VOiD
by Pastrinator64
Summary: Mark and Vanessa, the son and daughter of Norman and Lizzy, have been transported into Minecraftia. The Glitch has returned with another evil plan to swallow all dimensions in darkness and cold. Mark must get the ancient Balance Core safely back into the Aether to restore the world of Minecraft and keep the Glitch from stealing it. Many obstacles face him, so what will Mark find?
1. Chapter 1: Expelled From Their Homes

**_VOiD_**

**_A FANFIC by Pastrinator64_**

* * *

**Hello everybody, this is Pastrinator64 with a new Minecraft fanfic! Here is the long-awaited (well, not really that long due to my impatience) sequel to THE GLITCH! Now, before you dig into the story I have some things I would like to explain.**

**Firstly, you notice how on the cover-art there are three spots for pairs of eyes? (Eyes is kind of my theme, as you can tell by looking at THE GLITCH.) Well, those three spots on the cover will be taken by the eyes of the three OCs I will be accepting throughout the story. So make sure you pay attention to the end of every chapter; if I'm asking for an OC that's where you'll find the information.**

**Secondly, I will answer any reviews given to VOiD in the following chapter, so if you have any questions for me you can put them in review form and I'll answer them in the next chapter. If you just want to comment or be completely random I really don't care all that much, you can review however you want! ;D**

**Thirdly, I will be asking at the end of each chapter for you to send your very own questions to the characters, which will be answered by the characters asked in the following chapter. Any questions asked will show up answered at the bottom of the following chapter by the characters if you want to see the replies. So, surprise me with creativity! Come up with some good questions for meh characters, I can't wait to see what you've got in store! I will include what you need at the bottom of this chapter, it's not much.**

**Fourthly, I would just like to say to all you reading out there that VOiD's chapters will be nearly twice as long as the chapters in THE GLITCH, which I have done to minimize the documents filling up in my Doc Manager, that was a disaster last time.**

**Lastly, before you go on to read my story, I would just like to show my favorite review for my last important announcements, because there was one of my biggest fans who gave this hilarious comment...**

**Enderdude 6/12/13 . chapter 57: ****"Ahhhhhh! Tommrow! Wooooh! Ima grab meh hot pockets!"**

**XD I laughed so hard when I read that! Then when I PMd him he said he already had three dozen Hot Pockets in the microwave! Thanks, dude, I'll go grab meh Poptarts!**

**Anyway, how about we get on with VOiD? Are you ready? Well then, grab your Hot Pockets and Poptarts, cuz' here's the sequel to THE GLITCH: VOiD! Enjoy!**

* * *

_Chapter 1: Expelled From Their Homes_

"Mark! Come down to dinner!"

Mark Inkwell, your typical fourteen year-old nerd—tall, black hair, misty gray eyes—was sitting in front of a gigantic TV with a headset put on, wearing his favorite blue Minecraft T-shirt. He was playing Minecraft as Pastrinator64 with Nightlock and Teddybros444, two of his best friends. At the moment they were trying to escape an ancient pyramid on a new map. As he was aiming his avatar—his skin being a tan and brown man with a frosted strawberry Poptart head—to look down a hallway full of wooden pressure plates.

"Hey Teddybros444, you go through that hallway first, I'll come in after you..."

"Mark! Do you want enchiladas or not?"

He of course hadn't known they were having his favorite meal, so he quickly said into his headset,

"Sorry, guys, dinner. I'll be back in a half hour."

Mark took off his headset and paused the game. As he was running down the steps to the kitchen he caught a glance of Vanessa sitting in her room, reading her novel: "Moby Dick". Vanessa was a thirteen, so a year younger than he. She had frizzy maroon hair like her mother and very dark brown eyes. Also like her mother she was short and thin. Mark stopped and backed up again so he could see her.

"Vanessa, dinner! Enchiladas!" he said, waving to her.

"Mmmhmm, ok. I shall be down when I finish the chapter..." she muttered, burying her nose deeper into the book.

Mark just ran past her and smirked at her stiffness. She was always like that, her nose buried in the pages of some book. Mark ran into the kitchen and threw himself into his chair, taking up his fork and knife. His mother came in with a big pan of enchiladas and set it down. As she was walking back she called,

"Norman, honey, did you get the paper this morning?"

Mark's father answered from downstairs.

"Yes, why?"

"I didn't get my coupons."

Their father came up into the room and sat down at the head of their table.

"So, what's cooking?" he asked.

"Spicy enchiladas." answered his wife.

Then Vanessa came down to the table, setting her book on the counter. Then they tucked into their food. Mark, for some reason, tasted something funny in the food, but didn't inquire. His father noticed it too.

"Liz, did you put something different in these? They taste a little... Strange..."

"Yes, I added a special ingredient." answered Liz.

"What's that?"

"Fermented skunk secretion."

Norman lurched forward and spewed enchilada all over the table, coughing and choking. Mark felt a little sick to his stomach, too. After choking down the strangely altered enchiladas, Mark ran back up to his room and put on his headset. His friends were already at the other end of the hallway. He heard his best friend Teddy—hence Teddybros444—speak to him.

"Dude, you back on?"

"Yeah," said Mark, making his way into the pressure plate hallway. "I'm back. I just had enchiladas for dinner, but my mom put something really gross in it."

His best friend Elliot—Nightlock—spoke this time.

"What was it?"

"Fermented skunk secretion!" he answered.

He heard his friends start to laugh, and then Teddybros444 said,

"Your mother puts skunk crap in enchiladas?! Dude, that is freaking sick. Now, are you coming or not? Make sure you don't step on any of those pressure plates, we learned the hard way that they make you drop into lava, and I almost fell through."

Mark continued to play with his friends on Minecraft for a while, but finally when it turned 10:00PM Liz came in and said,

"Alright, off the game."

"K, mom." he answered.

He got off a few minutes later, saying goodbye to his friends. Then he got ready for bed, and he couldn't wait for tomorrow when they would be trying out a new map taking place inside The Void itself. These thoughts in mind, he crawled underneath his covers and fell asleep.

* * *

The next morning Mark awoke early. He and his friends had been planning for their Minecraft marathon for months, and now they could finally do it. Once he was up and ready he watched his clock until it was 7:00, and once it was time he jumped into place, brought out a six-pack of Coke from his mini-fridge and booted up Minecraft. As he was putting on his headset he said,

"Hey, anybody on?"

Teddybros444 answered back with,

"Yeah, I'm on. Nightlock must be sleeping in or something, but he'll be here, let's just reset the spawn point to wherever we are every few minutes and he'll be able to find us."

Mark watched Teddybros444's avatar—a black bear with green shorts—walk down through the tree-covered mountain we spawned on. He followed him until they were out of the trees at the bottom of the mountain. They get going down, and eventually reached a cave within the mountain that was full of water. Mark gasped when he saw the giant bedrock frame of the portal up against the dark wall inside the cave. Sitting inside that space was a huge swirling black portal mass, which must be for the map they were using. Teddybros444 walked up to it and said,

"Wow! Dude, let's go inside! We'll be transported to The Void!"

He walked right into the portal and said,

"Here I go!"

At this time, Vanessa came in to Mark's room and saw the gigantic portal. She still had her book.

"You're really up THIS early? You are totally obsessed, Mark. Besides, who has enough free time to make that gigantic portal? The time it took to build that could've been used for something constructive!" she declared.

"Vanessa, go away, you're not making this any funner."

She raised a finger and said,

"No, "funner" is not a word, the correct grammar would be "you're not making this any more fun" if you actually cared about grammar."

"Newsflash, Vanessa, I don't really care about grammar. As long as it makes sense to me I'm perfectly fine." replied Mark.

She grunted and then looked at the portal again.

"Who the heck built that thing, anyway?"

As Mark guided his avatar towards the gigantic portal to follow Teddybros444 he said,

"I dunno, whoever created the map, I guess."

Mark walked right through the portal, and instantly he was transported into a gigantic area of darkness. He was expecting to land in the secret castle inside that Nightlock told him about, but he just was standing there in darkness.

"Humph, some fun this is..." muttered Vanessa.

"You just wait, it's probably loading."

But another thirty seconds later nothing changed at all. He decided to ask Teddybros444 instead.

"Hey, Teddybros444, is the world not loading on your end too?" he asked.

There wasn't a reply.

"Dude, Teddy, where are you?" he said again.

Still, there was no response. He started to get annoyed, because Teddy must've dropped out on him for something stupid. He grunted and said,

"Fine then, when this loads I guess me and Nightlock will explore without him."

""Nightlock and I", Mark." said Vanessa.

"WELL, WHATEVER!" retorted Mark, still a bit frustrated.

Mark was about to set down his controller and grab a quick snack while he waited for his friends to come on, but then his entire TV screen turned to static. He pounded a fist against the screen and said,

"C'mon, not now!"

He grunted and just decided to quit for real. It was a Saturday, and now he had nothing to do. But then remembered that later that night was actually Elliot's 15th birthday, so he had that to look forward to. But until 7:00 he had nothing to do. For most of the day he just wandered around thinking to himself about the book he was writing for Fanfiction. It was called "THE GLITCH" and at the moment it was becoming increasingly popular. Even though he had finished it, his readers weren't as far as he was in comparison, so he was itching to post more chapters to get more secrets revealed.

Finally, after hours and hours of boredom it was 6:30, so he was able to get ready finally. Once he had his favorite Peanut Butter Jelly Time T-shirt on he raced downstairs and opened their family fridge. There was a huge space in the center with a gigantic mountain of crackers, each spread with cheese spread. It was a masterpiece. Elliot loved cheese on crackers.

Carefully picking up the cheese and crackers mountain on its plate he found his mother drinking coffee at their dinner table.

"Mom, I'm heading over to Elliot's party, ok?" he announced, balancing his load.

"Alright, just be back home before midnight, ok?" she requested.

"K, mom."

Mark headed out the door with his mountain and walked down three street for a couple blocks, thankfully not spilling anything. He caught a glimpse of Elliot's house and saw colorful lights flashing through the windows, and he could even feel the bass from where he was. He walked up to the door and rang the bell. About ten seconds later Elliot came to the door and said,

"Dude! You're late! We already ate all the salsa and tortilla chips and Coke!"

Mark almost dropped his load. He absolutely ADORED those two snacks more than anything else.

"WHAT?!"

"I'm just kidding, bro, there's plenty! Come on in before you crush yourself!"

Mark grunted and walked through the door, and quickly found the snack table to set down his mountain of cheese and crackers. He looked around and noticed the new theme. Every year Elliot would have a different theme for each party of his. This time everything was 8-bit themed. The banners, lights, and other decorations were pixilated. When Mark looked at the snack table he noticed that there were foods from classic video games such as Mario and Kirby and of course Minecraft.

"Hey Mark!"

Mark turned around and saw his four best friends standing in the center of the party room. Mark grinned and ran over to them. Besides Elliot and Teddy there were Corinne and Gabby. Corinne had long blond hair while Gabby's was thicker and brown, Corinne with blue eyes and Gabby with brown. All of them had boyfriends or girlfriends, and unfortunately for Mark, he had always been Forever Alone. He had a girlfriend only once, but that was over a year ago, and he couldn't even remember their name. Corinne gestured for him to come over.

"Mark, we were just talking about you!"

When Mark walked up Gabby joked,

"Oh yeah, we we're talking about you, alright. IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN."

"Ha ha, very funny. Let me guess, you were also talking about me, IN MY BED." replied Mark.

Gabby grinned and said,

"Oh yeah, ALL the time!"

Mark turned to Teddy and said,

"Dude, what happened this morning? You just disappeared on me after you entered that portal."

Teddy shrugged.

"I don't know what happened, I tried to communicate with you but I guess that either your headset is broken or it's mine. Plus, when I went through the portal there was nothing but Void fog. It was a total rip-off." he muttered.

Elliot shrugged himself and muttered,

"Sorry, I had to go, my 'rents grounded me for getting up so early to play Minecraft."

Then Corinne said,

"I can't understand anything you're saying! All you ever talk about is Minecraft! I'm always gonna stick with Sonic!"

She pulled at her Sonic the Hedgehog T-shirt to prove her point. The party just continued on from there, 8-bit music playing the entire time. Mark danced, ate, talked, laughed, danced some more, and finally at 11:55 he left—he made sure to remember his mom's request. He exited through the door at that time and headed home, glad that he no longer needed to carry that cheese and crackers mountain.

It had gotten a lot colder from when he had arrived, and he shivered in his T-shirt and shorts. Earlier in the night it had been a warm summer evening, but a cold draft had blown in. Mark looked up in the sky, and to his interest he watched as a black and white meteor was flying through the night sky. But then it got closer to him, and he was startled when it hurtled down and landed about forty meters from his position.

He tried to see through the smoke and debris at the crash-landed meteor, but it was too hazy for him to see. He looked around at the street, but no sign of other activity showed. He looked back at the smoke.

Mark couldn't resist his curiosity, and he ran towards the smoke as fast as he could. He coughed as he was fanning away the smoke, and he looked down into a small crater in the ground to see the mysterious object. This object was almost a perfect cube, and it was surrounded by a strange aura of mixed black and white light. He was about to run and get someone to see what he was seeing, but then the object grew too bright and he couldn't see anymore. Without even realizing it, the black and white aura enveloped him while he was standing, and the next thing he knew he had blacked out.

* * *

Although, Mark wasn't the only one being kicked out from his home...

Deep in the dark depths of The Void, the Glitch was plotting... A BIRTHDAY PARTY! A birthday party for itself. It was its 20th Good-Guy Anniversary. Ever since it was thrown in with its future counterpart and sent into The Void inside the supercomputer named E.S.C. it had decided to become a good guy instead and thrive down in The Void. It sealed up its evil counterpart from the future and sent it farther down into The Void to be banished, and now it had its own kingdom in The Void, a wealthy kingdom.

Now the good Glitch had been accepted by Notch, Herobrine, and Queen Enderdragon as a fellow ruler, the ruler of The Void, which was technically another dimension. It used its infinite supply of bedrock to create its castle. The good Glitch had many subjects, all of which were protective plasma masses that used to be viruses. Both it and its subjects were pure white with blue eyes instead of black and red, and the good Glitch even changed its name to Salutem, which in Latin meant "the health".

With Salutem's new power, together the four rulers of the Minecraft Dimension restored the Nether to its full capacity again, and Herobrine had already rebuilt the Nether Palace. They also rebuilt the parts of the Aether Palace that had been destroyed. All the battle scars that stretched across the Overworld were healed. In every dimension there was celebration for twenty whole years, the celebration of the death of the Glitch and of the reborn dimension.

Although, Salutem's counterpart—the Glitch—was still sealed away, deep inside The Void trillions of kilometers farther down than the Void Palace, plotting its own revenge against its good side. And Salutem's birthday party for his 20th Good Guy Anniversary was the perfect opportunity to slip in. Even in the twenty years of rest, the Spirits In Between were still weak from the final battle between Norman Cobweb's army and its when the spirits had used their powers to keep him down while the Notch, Herobrine, and Queen Enderdragon were being prepared to suck up his counterpart in the past. With their powers still drained, the Glitch could mask its power well enough and slowly make its way up to the Void Palace. With everyone attending the party, security would be low around the rest of the kingdom, and it could sneak inside. Once it was inside the kingdom it would finally get the chance to multiply and stretch the newly healed wings that had been destroyed those twenty years ago. Both the good and bad arrangements were settled.

* * *

Finally, the birthday party being held for Salutem was ready on July 24th, 2435, in the Minecraft Dimension. All the people of the Minecraft Dimension were invited to come, and deep in the Falling Mountains inside Last Fall Cave—the seed being 1210262575—was a huge Void portal with a frame of bedrock and a core of lava. People could come right through and enter the Void Palace if they liked, and at the moment Last Fall Cave was packed full of the people of Minecraft who wanted to join in the party.

Salutem slithered back and forth in the throne room, hardly able to contain its excitement. Finally it turned to its right-hand program—whose name was Ben—and declared,

"Ben, I believe that this shall be the best birthday I have ever had! Everything is ready, and so now all I need to do is give out the order to begin the party! This will be great!"

Salutem formed its right wing into a huge microphone and spoke into it, making its voice echo throughout the entire Void Palace.

"Hello, everyone, welcome to Void Palace! I am so glad that you could all come!" there were sounds of cheering from outside the throne room. "Today, as you should know, is my 20th Good-Guy Anniversary, celebrating twenty years of my using of my powers for good and not evil! The celebration will be held in the formal dining room! We have a vast buffet and music, so please partake! Thank you!"

More cheering followed, and the many footsteps shook the kingdom as everyone headed to the dining room. Salutem moved towards its water-fashioned mirror and inspected itself. Then it opened a nearby chest and took out a top hat and monocle, fitting them on neatly. Then it outstretched its wing and formed an elegant cane made of its white plasma. Once Salutem was ready, it slithered out the door and headed to the dining room.

In a matter of minutes Salutem entered the dining room. Everyone around him was wearing formal clothing, conversing, eating and drinking, laughing, just having a good time. Then everyone looked up and cheered for Salutem, who smiled and took a bow up on top of the balcony. After the cheering Salutem slithered off of the balcony and hovered—using its pure white wings—down onto the ground lightly. Ben followed and then when it had landed it said,

"Master Salutem, please, let me find you a seat."

Salutem nodded in agreement and soon found himself sitting down at the head of the long dining table. About three minutes later Ben came back from the buffet line with a large platter of all different high-quality cuisines. Like corndogs, for instance (just kidding XD). There was cream of mushroom and spinach stew, stuffed grape leaf cornbread, sautéed onion and basil tenderloin, and a la mode lemon meringue pudding. Salutem created a plasma-crafted napkin and tied it around its neck.

"Ah, yes, thank you, Ben. This really will be a wonderful birthday." said Salutem.

But before it could even eat, a sudden scream echoed from the other side of the table. Other people started screaming, and Salutem watched as a woman was lifted up into the air by an unknown force. It rose up to its full height and declared,

"Who is there?! Whoever it is, set the woman down!"

Suddenly, the Glitch's black plasma wing materialized around the suspended woman, the rest of the black mass following. The Glitch's eyes squinted and its mouth turned to an evil grin.

_"Hello, Salutem, long time no see..."_

Salutem's eyes squinted, but its mouth turned to scowl.

"Glitch, you were not invited due to your aggressive and unforgiveable behavior! BEGONE! You do not belong here!" it said.

The Glitch tightened its grip around the woman, who grunted and then screamed again.

"HELP! PLEASE!

The Glitch continued with,

_"Don't even think about moving, or she dies! Give up your kingdom to me and I will not kill anyone. Anyone except you, of course..."_

Salutem looked nervously around at its subjects and guests. Finally, it sighed and dropped down.

"I cannot cause death of all these innocent souls. You make take this kingdom for your own..." it said sadly.

The Glitch's smile widened and he extended out a wing, then touched the ground. All of a sudden, all the bedrock floors began to turn to plasma, the dark substance spreading across the floors. But, as people stood on it, they died instantly, and their screams echoed through the room. Salutem launched forward angrily and screamed,

"YOU BASTARD, YOU SAID YOU WOULD NOT TOUCH THEM!"

A deadly bludgeon of white plasma appeared in Salutem's wings and it screeched angrily. The Glitch crushed the screaming woman in its wing and then formed its giant black plasma scythe.

_"WELL, I'M EVIL!"_ screeched the Glitch.

Bludgeon met scythe, and a battle began. Salutem swung upward, parrying a swing from the Glitch's scythe and then stabbed forward into the Glitch's mass, disintegrating some plasma and replacing it with his own white plasma. But then Salutem was sliced through by the black scythe, and a part of him was replaced with the spreading black plasma. They were both being weakened. Salutem's bludgeon soared upward and blocked another hit, then to the side for another stab. After a while there was no hits on either, but both of them had overcome the opposite plasmas from each other's weapons and were fully restored. When Salutem thrust forward with its giant white plasma bludgeon, but the Glitch shifted its body out of the way and slithered back.

_"Alright,"_ said the Glitch, holding out its black plasma scythe. _"This isn't going anywhere. Let me just speed things up..."_

Suddenly, the handle of the scythe began to lengthen, and soon another blade had grown from it of equal size. When the transformation was finished the Glitch took the handle with both hands and raised the newly created double death scythe. It began to twirl around faster than a tornado, spewing black plasma everywhere. The Glitch held out its two spinning blades of death and slithered towards Salutem, who quickly backed up to avoid getting hit.

Salutem kept backing away, trying and failing to get around the Glitch, who was much bigger than it was. Finally, Salutem had itself backed up against the now plasma-wall of the dining room, the double scythe swirling menacingly towards him.

_"PREPARE TO BE ERASED, SALUTEM!"_ screamed the Glitch.

Just as the two spinning blades were a mere block away from Salutem, Salutem flattened its plasma mass to the ground and slithered in a ring around the Glitch, who turned around and tried stabbing him on the floor, but kept missing due to Salutem's shifting body. Salutem slithered flat as a pancake all the way over to the open window out to The Void and escaped through there, launching out into the depths of The Void to avoid its death. Salutem returned to its regular body form and flapped its wings, hurtling down like an eagle as deep as it could go, deep enough to escape the wings of the Glitch.

Salutem stopped after about an hour, and then looked around. It was surrounded in complete darkness, and when it looked up it did not see any sign of the Void Palace.

"Finally, I am safe. Although, I am not sure what kind of fate the people of the Minecraft Dimension will suffer in now that the Glitch has revealed itself again. Oh, I can only hope that Notch, Herobrine, and Queen Enderdragon made it out safely."

Salutem hurtled down into the darkness and said to itself,

"There is only one place I can take refuge now."

It kept flying downward, but after a while The Void began to lighten, and soon it had entered blue skies. Once it could see the bright blue ocean it started to hover.

Salutem stopped just above the surface of the bright blue ocean. It looked around and spotted a beach not far from its position. Salutem flapped its way towards it, and landing in exhaustion in the sand. It tried to take a breath, but the ordeal it had just gone through was too much.

Salutem had to rest and stay on that beach. Then it looked up into the blue sky and could just barely see the tiny little black hole that was the link between all dimensions. The Void fog was no longer in sight, so Salutem knew that it was far away enough inside its nature hideaway to avoid being detected by the Glitch. For that time, Salutem would stay hidden until it had enough strength to warn the Ultra Hero about this terrible occurrence.

* * *

***lets out breath* So, how did you like the first chapter?**

**Now then, will Salutem be able to get back to its kingdom and dethrone the newly returned Glitch? Will Mark be able to return back to his home after mysteriously disappearing due to his interaction with that strange cube meteor? Does the Glitch really have all its power again after a mere twenty years? Find out next chapter in VOiD!**

**Alright, everyone! If you have a creative question for any of the characters then here's what you have to put in the question...**

_**To:**__** (Insert Character Name Here)**_

_**Question: (Insert Creative Question Here)**_

**If you don't have any fun character questions that's ok, I just know you'll have some later!**

**Also, I have been talking about the mini-adventure with Pastrinator64 and friends, but I have not yet decided the character roster. So, I will give you who exactly will be playing important roles in this next adventure, which I will put at the end of the next chapter. Not including Pastrinator64 there are four other slots for characters, which will soon be filled! As always, stay tuned!**

**But for now, this is Pastrinator64, and I'll see you later with chapter numbah two!**

***throws sugar bomb, disappears in a cloud of fine white sugar***

**Byyyyyeeeeee...**

**~Pastrinator64 [~]**


	2. Chapter 2: Beyond The Screen

**Hello, this is Pastrinator64 with another chapter from VOiD! Firstly, I would just like to say that I received a whopping 9 reviews, 3 favorites and 3 follows in just one day! Thank you all; I just know that VOiD is on its way to success! :D**

**Hey, if it isn't too much trouble, I would like to recommend a good friend of mine who is an amazing writer, her username is iliketoreviewthegoodstories, check out her stories if you have time!**

**Now then, I had several character question reviews, but the reviews I have here were regular reviews. All character question reviews are posting at the bottom. I will reply to people with the name Guest, but if you are the Guest who reviewed you'll just have to search for your question.**

Replies to reviews...

** arturo . saldias . 7 . 7:** Well I'm glad you could come on time! :D

**Guest: **An OC is an acronym for Original Character. You send in your own character to hopefully get accepted into a fanfic, and if you are curious I will be having a total of three OC accepting times throughout VOiD.

**Star223: **Hello to you!

**Guest: **Your comment made mine! :D

**somebody10101: **Sorry about the movie thing, I just thought it would be an awesome twist! Hey, you want to know something? The story of THE GLITCH really did happen, they just made a movie out of it! It wasn't actually a movie, the movie that Notch and his Mojang crew was creating was actually based off of it. This is a true story! So, stop worrying about the movie thing, it's not.

**Enderdude:** Well gee, I hope you weren't wearing your favorite undies! XD And yes, I totally agree; making doubly-long chapters was an awesome idea. Thirdly, I couldn't just ignore that comment, dude! YO LOVE FO HOT POCKETS NEEDED TO BE KNOWN! I can definitely tell you're super excited just by reading your review! That's ok if you couldn't read it earlier, as long as you don't completely drop it it's ok.

**Purgeto: **I hope so too, THE GLITCH was pretty successful, I'm not sure if I can top it! Then again, the way this is going might actually prove me wrong! :D

**Now that that's taken care of, let's get on with the story!**

**Hello, this is Pastrinator64 with another chapter from VOiD. Last time on VOiD we watched as two poor victims were taken away from their homes. Mark was mysteriously taken into darkness by a strange, cubical, black and white meteor after his friend Elliot's birthday party. Salutem fled from its own Void Palace to escape the wrath of the newly returned and all-powerful Glitch. Neither of them have hopes of getting back home, not even in the slightest! Now we watch as Mark wakes up not back in his bed at home, but somewhere much, much different.**

**Now, let the story commence!**

* * *

_Chapter 2: Beyond the Screen_

Mark awoke staring into the huge derpy eyes of a pig. He jumped up and scrambled back, kicking the pig in the face in the process. The pig squealed and scuttled away, and Mark just sat there breathing hard. He looked around him at his surroundings. He was sitting inside a dark cave that stretched high above, small holes above let in beams of sunlight just enough for him to see with. There was a lot of water, too. Then Mark turned around to see the Void portal that he and Teddybros444 had gone through earlier. He had been sucked inside the world of Minecraft.

The first thing he did was jump up and pump his fist, shouting with joy.

"WOOHOO! MY DREAM HAS COME TRUE!"

As he was shouting he turned around and gasped. A gigantic floating screen of glass—not Minecraft glass, real glass—was floating up in front of him. He could see through into the inside of his bedroom. Mark knew he needed to get home, so what he did was run towards it, and he was just tall enough to touch it. He pounded on it, trying to get through, but there was some kind of force separating him from his room and the game. He gave up quickly, and then turned back to the portal at the other end. Suddenly, he saw Void fog begin to stream from it, and he knew that that meant someone was coming through.

Before Mark could run, a beanbag chair-sized mass of black plasma with red eyes and a red mouth slithered out, and it zoomed right through Mark's body and headed past him. Mark turned around and watched nervously at the strange plasma, and then he heard more rumbling and his vision became full of those strange creatures. An army of them were slithering quickly towards him, but he was so scared that he wasn't able to move, and for some reason all of the plasma masses passed right through him as though he weren't there. They didn't even glance at him. More plasma masses kept streaming through and filling up the cave, and Mark wanted to get out, so he ran to the other side through the army of plasma masses and jumped up a scraggly wall of dirt until he was up on a ledge. He watched from there, spying on all the black plasma masses filling up the cave.

But then, once there were roughly 100,000 plasma masses squeezed into the massive cave, they stopped streaming through the portal. A few seconds later, a new, more massive and scary figure emerged. It looked just like the other plasma masses, only twenty times larger. It stood there in front of the portal for a moment, but then slowly stretched out its gigantic black plasma wings until they were spread thirty-forty blocks apart it. Then it spoke.

_"Ah, yes! YES! It has been very long since I have been back in the Overworld! Rise, my minions!"_

The plasma viruses stretched out their own wings and flew up in the air.

_"This time we will NOT fail! The Spirits In Between have not regained the powers that they used those twenty years ago to defeat us, therefore they cannot give power to the four rulers—Notch, Herobrine, Queen Enderdragon, and that scumbag Salutem! There is no one who can stand in our way as we tear through this dimension. WE WILL BE ABLE TO CONSUME AND GROW IN NUMBERS! WE WILL BECOME THE INTER-DIMENSIONAL RULERS OF THE UNIVERSE AND NO ONE WILL BE ABLE TO STOP US!"_ screeched the monster.

The plasma masses floating up in the air let out a chorus of screeching, and then the largest one let out its own screech. The giant plasma mass rose up into the air and flapped its wings, and its army of black plasma masses followed. In a matter of seconds they were gone, disappeared through the ceiling of the cave. After a couple seconds of silence, Mark looked around at the cave to make sure there weren't any more of those creatures. Breathing hard, he jumped the rest of the way to the top where the hole inside the mountain was that lead out of the cave. Mark finally reached the hole and climbed out onto the grass of the mountain. He looked around for the creatures, but he did not see them anywhere in sight.

Then he crouched low to look inside the cave, and stared at the magic glass screen floating inside, still showing the inside of his room. Suddenly, he saw his mom Lizzy come onto the screen and enter the room. He heard,

"Mark? Where are you?"

Mark waved an arm and screamed,

"I'm up here! Hey! Look up here!"

But after a minute or so his mom left the room. The screen must not reach where he was. He was too high up. Mark sighed and then lay on the grass of the hill, suddenly exhausted from his climb. He rolled over and looked to his side at the grassy mountains stretching far beyond.

"Alright, I'm doomed. Whatever that meteor was, it sucked me into Minecraft. Now I'm alone, and there are monsters EVERYWHERE. I'm going to die, and no one will ever know..."

Mark wiped away a sudden hopeless tear and muttered,

"I'm doomed."

"Hey kid!"

Mark stood up and looked around. He didn't see anyone.

"Who's there?" he said, readying himself for an attack.

A kid's head poked up from the edge of the mountain about twenty blocks away.

"Are you a nomad?" the kid asked.

"No, I'm not supposed to be here, even."

"Why not?"

"Well, I was kind of sucked into this world, and I don't know how or why, but something—"

The kid jumped into better view and said,

"That's ok, you don't need to explain. My name's Lucas Creeper!"

The kid looked about Vanessa's age—maybe a little younger than thirteen, actually. He had shaggy blond hair and big blue eyes, and a perfect white smile. He was a little pale, though. Then suddenly, a Creeper's head poked up into view and Mark jumped.

"This is Bonbon, my pet Creeper."

Bonbon the Creeper jumped up into view. It was actually just a baby Creeper, just one block in height. The funny thing was, it had two tiny green pupils that sort of went in opposite directions, making it look like it was a derpy Creeper.

"Pet... Creeper..." muttered Mark.

Lucas laughed and patted Bonbon the Creeper on the head.

"Yeah! She's just like our family Creeper, Butterball!"

There was an awkward silence, but then Lucas waved his hand and started running down the hill.

"C'mon to my house! I'll show you to my family!" he shouted.

Mark followed carefully after him down the mountain. Eventually he had to resort to running to keep up with Lucas, who never seemed to run out of energy. They kept running around the mountain behind the one Mark had rested on, and apparently that was the last mountain, because then the landscape flattened out to some plains. Mark looked around at the vast plains but didn't see anything but grass and sheep.

"So, where's your village?" muttered Mark.

Lucas tapped his shoulder and pointed at the backside of the mountain. Mark turned around and his eyes widened. Many village houses were built into the side of the escalating mountain. Ladders hung everywhere for people to use for climbing. Everything was made of birch wood and leaves. The walkways were made of fence posts with pressure plates placed on top. Lucas ran right over to one of the hanging ladders and started to climb it. When he was about halfway up to the first line of houses he turned around to look at Mark.

"You coming?" he asked.

Mark walked forward slowly, eyeing the village above him.

"Yeah..."

Once Mark reached the ladder he started to climb, following Lucas. Once he was at the top of the ladder he stepped onto the first walkway, looking around at the first line of houses to his left and right. Lucas ran up to the face of the mountain and jumped up to climb another ladder. Mark followed him, and then they were up onto the second row. Lucas moved forward again towards the sloped face of the mountain and jumped up onto the next ladder. Mark hurried behind, starting to get tired. By the time they reached the very top of the mountain village they had climbed five huge ladders. Mark flopped onto the walkway and huffed. Lucas just ran towards the first house in front of them and called out,

"C'mon!"

Mark grunted and pushed himself up to his feet, and then ran after the boy again. Lucas stopped at the door of the house and said,

"This is my place."

Mark took a look and noticed that Lucas's house was actually a lot bigger than the rest of the houses. In fact, it looked like a mansion. It WAS a mansion! There was a walkway leading up to the door with Nether ore pillars lined along each side that supported a roof above. The building was made from brick instead of wood. It all just looked fancier. Lucas opened the double doors in front and entered. Mark followed him in and looked around.

He was standing in the foyer, and there were wool couches everywhere. Paintings hung along the walls, and there was a fireplace at both the right and left walls. There was nice green carpet laid along every inch of the floor. Everything was extremely clean, too. Lucas walked past everything and headed down a hallway with Mark following close behind.

A butler appeared and approached Lucas, holding out a platter with a bunch of pastries.

"Would you like a pastry, Master Lucas?"

"That's ok, Benedict."

Then he gestured to Mark.

"What about your friend?"

"We're fine, Benedict." repeated Lucas.

They kept walking from lavish room to lavish room, passing through the great room, breakfast room, formal dining room, kitchen, etc. Finally they reached the patio—which was so far back in the gigantic house that it came outside of the other side of their mountain. When Mark stepped out of the house through the other side of the mountain, he saw a woman and a Creeper standing on the deck. They both turned around, and the woman smiled and said,

"Who's your friend, Lucas?"

Lucas paused for a moment and then turned around to ask Mark,

"Uh, what's your name again?"

"Mark."

Suddenly, the Creeper started to hiss and stare at Mark menacingly. The woman grabbed the Creeper's shoulder blade and said,

"Butterball, no. Lucas, can you take out Butterball, he might just be a little antsy."

Lucas whined, but then walked over and moved Butterball the Creeper out of the room. As they were going through the doors back into the house Mark noticed that there was a saddle on it.

"Are you a nomad?" asked the woman.

Mark turned back around and shook his head.

"No, I'm not supposed to be here. I don't know how I got here, I got absorbed by some cubed meteor covered in black and white light back when I was going home from a birthday party. I don't know if there's some kind of magic force between here and Earth, but whatever it—"

Then the woman's eyes lit up and she said,

"Wait, did you say Earth? Who are your Earth parents?"

"Norman and Lizzy Cobweb, ma'am, but my mom's maiden name was Cake. I never understood why they had such weird—"

The woman jumped up and then ran towards Mark, and they shook hands.

"You are Norman Cobweb's son?! I can't believe you're here! My name is Bailey Creeper, I was your father and mother's best friend!"

Now Mark was a little weirded-out. No, A LOT weirded-out. Then Bailey Creeper rushed towards the door leading to the patio and opened it, calling to everyone inside.

"Everyone come here! Norman and Lizzy's son has finally returned!"

In a matter of minutes Mark was swarmed by people, all of them trying to shake hands with him or just get a good look. And it seemed as though Mark was the only one who didn't understand his fame. Before Mark could process anything he was being lifted up into the air by a swarm of people, all cheering and shouting his name. Finally, after almost three minutes of that he was able to get back down. He whirled around and pointed at Bailey and Butterball, saying,

"Alright, lady, what the heck is going on?! My dad never talked about you, and neither did my mom!"

The woman paused for a moment, but then sighed and said,

"You're right, he couldn't have, you wouldn't have been able to take the news of his past."

"What past?!" Mark shouted as he threw up his arms.

"You see," said Bailey, who turned around and looked out at the mountains beyond. "Your father and mother had lived on Earth for a long time, all the way until they were thirteen years old. But then, one day the evil virus—the Glitch was its name—that threatened all existence appeared again after its first attack on your world from 400 years ago for payback, and in the process of its terrorization of your city they were both sucked through your father's old laptop and sent into this world. When the Glitch found out that your mother and father had escaped, it knew that it had to stop them from surviving, and they were the two major threats to its existence. Soon your parents were given a very special duty, and they had to embark on an epic quest. They traveled across the entire Minecraft Dimension in search of five mob clans and five mutant mobs. They had to kill all five of both in order to obtain these items called the Doorway Drops, which were the keys to the Glitch's prison deep inside The Void. There were eight heroes in that prophecy, and I was one of them. I was with your father throughout his quest; me and Butterball here. Well, after a long and hard journey of death and despair, we finally defeated the Glitch once and for all, and your father and mother were transported back to Earth. Your parents saved the entire universe, Mark."

Mark let the story marinate for a second, but his brain was completely overloaded. His parents had WHAT?!

_"I can't believe they never told me! I don't care whether I would've handled it, that is seriously something I should've known earlier! Dad never even told me about that virus thing—Glitch, whatever—that attacked Earth, like, twenty years ago, or something. Why didn't he say anything?"_ wondered Mark, frustration and confusing boiling up inside him.

Bailey put a hand on his shoulder and said,

"After these twenty years of celebration of our newfound peace, another chapter in the Divination of Dimensions—which is the inter-dimensional prophecy written by the supreme creators of all dimensions: The Spirits In Between—about Norman Cobweb and Lizzy Cake's son and daughter coming to rescue us from the third attempt of attack from the Glitch. Now that you are here, that must mean that the Glitch has escaped from its endlessly deep hole in The Void again, even though your mother and father defeated it, absorbed it with the electromagnetic of a supercomputer and threw it down into The Void to fall forever." Bailey suddenly remembered something and added, "I forgot to say this, but there was both a past Glitch and a present Glitch that were absorbed, and the past Glitch is now the friendly ruler of The Void. Still, I have a terrible feeling that the other Glitch has been slowly regaining its strength, and this time we do not have any help from the Spirits In Between, who had to use their powers twenty years ago when both Glitches were absorbed."

Mark held up his hand and said,

"Hold on a moment, let me just think this through..."

He did. He thought for about three minutes of pure silence. After that time he looked back up and said,

"So, I'm the hero of some great prophecy?" Bailey nodded. "And... Um... Then where's my sister Vanessa? She didn't get sucked in with me..."

"You must find your sister! You are two of the chosen heroes of this next chapter in the Divination of Dimensions! It is prophesized!" declared Bailey.

Mark held up his hands and said,

"Woah! Slow down! If this is all true, then she must be around here somewhere! Heck, she's probably already found a library to name her home away from home."

Mark had an idea and said,

"Wait! Is there a library here somewhere?"

Bailey nodded and said,

"I can find Lucas, he'll take you there."

In another minute Lucas was back with Butterball, who looked a little calmed down now. He grabbed Mark's hand and pulled him back towards the doors leading inside the mansion.

"C'mon, I'll show ya!"

They ran through the house quickly, then exited out into the rest of the built-into-mountain-town. As Mark was following Lucas this way and that he thought to himself,

"Great, now I really can't go home..."

After about three minutes they reached the library, which was down on the bottom row of houses. They entered the small building and Mark looked around. It looked like a normal village library, only slightly more books on each wall. Sitting near the back was, you guessed it, Vanessa, still reading "Moby Dick". As they were approaching Vanessa she looked up and saw Mark, then instantly scowled.

"YOU!" she screamed.

The librarian behind the desk shushed her, but she just stood up out of the chair and marched over to Mark. Then she slammed him in the head with "Moby Dick" and screamed,

"YOU IDIOT! HOW DID YOU GET US STUCK IN THIS GAME OF YOURS?!"

The librarian stood up and declared,

"Please, if you are going to be violent, I am going to have to ask you to leave."

Vanessa turned around and turned red with embarrassment.

"Yes, ma'am."

She pulled him quickly out of the library with Lucas following close behind. Once they were outside of the library she started screaming again.

"I KNEW YOU SHOULD HAVE NEVER BOUGHT THAT MIND-ROTTING PIECE OF GARBAGE! WHY ARE WE—"

Mark looked around nervously to see people all around them stopping to stare. He shoved his hand over Vanessa's mouth and pulled her down the ladder to the grass below, then guided her away from the village. She was about to start yelling again when he said,

"Alright, just shut up for one moment! I need to explain!"

"Oh, yes you do!"

Mark explained the entire story starting with him getting transported by the strange glowing black and white meteor cube to Bailey explaining all about his father's past and what his own future would have to become. After the entire explanation Vanessa just stared at him.

"That's impossible. That is PHYSICALLY IMPOSSIBLE! There is no way that could have happened! We cannot have come here by being sucked up by a strange meteor!"

"Stop trying to make sense of this!" shouted Mark. "You can't always make sense of everything! It just happened, I know it! We're here, aren't we? Plus, every single person I've met here claims that you and I are the heroes of a great prophecy, right? How is that not convincing enough to be the truth?!"

Vanessa sighed and said,

"Let's just get out of here, wherever HERE is..."

"That's just it," muttered Mark. "I don't know how we're going to get home. Plus, we can't just leave now, there's some kind of evil virus thing coming after all the dimensions in the universe!"

"Mark, there are only the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and possibly 4th Dimensions, it's not like there's hundreds upon thousands upon millions." replied Vanessa.

"So? We live in the 3rd Dimension, do YOU want to be killed by a virus?! I saw that thing when I first woke up here, and it had an army of plasma creatures, which I guess is what the physical appearance of a virus would be. The main virus is called the Glitch, and that thing was HUGE! I mean, like, gigantic! It had plasma wings! They all came right out of that Void portal me and Teddy were going to explore and then it was gone, out to destroy the world of Minecraft, then all the other dimensions following after that!"

"Mark, it's "Teddy and I"..."

"I don't care! We need to do this! I don't care if you don't like it, I don't like it myself, but there's no way out of this!" Mark suddenly remembered something and said, "Hey, the woman I talked to told me that the Glitch virus thingy had two copies of itself, one from the past and one from the present—or at least, the present of the time. She said that the past virus had turned good, so maybe we'll be able to find a way to meet this guy and ask it to... I don't know, maybe teleport us back to Earth using its old virus powers, or whatever?"

Vanessa processed this for a moment and finally she sighed.

"Fine, I'll play along, but you have to promise me to get us home, I have a geometry quiz on Friday that I've been DYING to take!" she said.

Mark groaned in disgust and turned around to lead them back to the village. Then he saw Lucas standing five blocks away from where they were. Lucas pumped his fist and said,

"Yes! Can I come?"

"You were listening to that?" muttered Mark.

"Yeah, but can I come? I've always wanted to go on a noble quest, fight with swords," he pretended to swing a sword at invisible villains. "Maybe even save a princess..."

Vanessa rolled her eyes and muttered something. But Mark just shook his head and said,

"No, it's way too dangerous. I saw those plasma virus things myself, their definitely not to be angered. Plus there are all sorts of mobs out there that could kill you." he pointed to Vanessa with his thumb and added, "I'm stuck with her, but that's different."

"But I'm really good with an ax!" declared Lucas.

"An... Ax? You can't weigh more than 75lbs, how can you carry an axe?" muttered Mark.

Lucas then kneeled down and took off his Blockpack—the special backpack that holds your inventory and small crafting grid—and pulled out a diamond ax. He hefted it up and said,

"Alright, let's go! One on one, Mark!"

"I don't have a sword." he replied.

Lucas pulled a diamond sword and tossed it to Mark, who barely caught it.

"There, you can borrow mine. I don't use it anyway, I prefer this ax. By the way, it's called C.H.O. (Cuts Heads Off)."

Before Mark even got a chance to defend himself he got hit in the head with the flat part of the ax's blade. As they started their sword-against-ax-fight the 8-bit tune "Space Shooter: Boy Avatar" began to play in the background. Mark lifted up his sword and barely blocked another swing. Lucas laughed and swung again, barely missing Mark's knee.

"C'mon, dude! I thought you were a hero!"

Mark growled and said,

"I AM!"

Sudden strength formed in Mark's arms and he swung forward with his diamond sword, blocking a hit from C.H.O. He swung furiously, stabbed, parried, and performed other cool tricks. Soon Mark was watching himself do what he was doing, and he shouted,

"How the heck am I doing this?!"

"It's in your code, Mark! Your instinct!" declared Lucas.

They kept battling for another few minutes, but finally "Space Shooter: Boy Avatar" ended and Vanessa shouted out,

"Hey! Are you two going to fight all day?!"

They stopped for a moment, and Lucas sat down and set C.H.O. on the ground so he could catch his breath.

"Wow! You're pretty good!"

Mark sat down as well and grinned, also trying to catch his breath.

"Geez, I've never handled a sword in my life..."

Vanessa walked over and stood in front of Mark.

"Alright, do you want to go home or not? If you do, then let's get down to that good virus—or whatever it is—and tell it to transport us home."

Mark sighed and then stood up. He looked at Lucas for a moment. Finally, he decided on his answer.

"Fine, you can come." Lucas pumped his fist and went "yessssss!". "I have a few rules, though. First, you're going to ask your family first, I don't want them to think I'm responsible for you running away. Second, you have to protect yourself, I mean, you seem strong enough anyway. And thirdly, you absolutely CANNOT be a pest!"

Lucas nodded hyperactively and said,

"I shall be anti-pest then!"

Mark rolled his eyes and turned around to stare out into the Falling Mountains that sat beyond Lucas's village. He had a feeling they'd be traveling for a long, long time...

* * *

**And as you can imagine, traveling with a hyperactive 13 year-old isn't going to be fun. How will Mark, Vanessa and Lucas survive after they get back into Last Fall Cave and enter that Void Portal? Will they fall right into The Void or land in the Void Palace? And how will Vanessa even survive when she refuses to hold a weapon of any kind? Find out next chapter in VOiD!**

**Now for some Questions And Answers! (QAA for short)**

**To Salutem: Are you the past or present Glitch?**

Salutem: I am from the past, so that's why I am smaller than my counterpart, who got more power in the future. Or at least, the future at the time.

**To Notch, Herobrine and Queen Enderdragon: Are you triplets? How were you born?**

Notch: Well, Herobrine and I are twins, but Queen Enderdragon wasn't... She wasn't born with us because, um... Er, how can I explain this...

Herobrine: Notch and I were born together, we're twins, but Queen Enderdragon was hatched from an egg some 420 years ago. So no, two humans and a mutant purple dragon were NOT born from the same mother... *rolls eyes*

Queen Enderdragon: Notch and Herobrine are brothers, but I was born from an egg a long time ago.

**To Salutem: How did you become good? Also, Good-Guy Anniversary is too cheesy.**

Salutem: Well, as you know, I was thrown into The Void with the Glitch as well, so what I did was use my last bit of strength to call upon Notch for mercy, and we agreed upon letting me out and making me a ruler. I will never regret my choice, it is very beneficial. By the way, I think that Good-Guy Anniversary is an appropriate name, thank you.

**To Salutem: Who is the Ultra Hero?**

Salutem: Don't you know from reading the Divination Of Dimensions? Do they not educate you on such basic information where you live? My word, the world really has gone downhill in the means of educating young minds. Well, I should not spoil anything, so please read on with this legend and you'll find out later! *smiles and winks*

**To the Glitch: Why can't you take a break? Just get a hobby like collecting snowflakes or get like a million cats! Why do you always have to be all mean and angry all the time?**

The Glitch: _You must be joking, you insolent piece of scum! I am a virus! It is my purpose in life! I consume, I destroy, I possess, I... AM... DEATH... ITSELF! You must not understand, I am nothing like my counterpart Salutem, he is a soft-programmed imbecile! Also, I hate snowflakes AND cats! If you don't want me to be angry maybe I should come right out of this screen and give you a taste of the wrath I possess!_ *fourth wall shatters* MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

**To Sir Salutem of Coolness: How would you compare you and your opposite Sir Glitch of Annoying Jerkiness? I like to think of you as a potion of regneration and the other dude as a potion of poison. :D**

Salutem: Well, thank you! *blue blush appears on nonexistent cheeks*I think that we are complete opposite, as you said. And yes, your version of comparison does seem to fit.

**Well then, that was amazing! So many questions! Remember, if you have a creative question towards the characters then send it to me, I'll have it answered for next chapter! Remember to use this...**

_**To:**__** (Insert Character Name Here)**_

_**Question: (Insert Creative Question Here)**_

**Now then, I have chapters 3-7 already finished, so I will post one every day until they run out, and then the wait might be longer for chapter posts. But don't worry too much, I'm a very fast typist.**

**But for now, this is Pastrinator64, and I'll see you later with chapter numbah three!**

***throws sugar bomb, disappears in a cloud of fine white sugar***

**Byyyyyeeeeee...**

**~Pastrinator64 [~]**


	3. Chapter 3: The City Beneath The Dark

**Hello, this is Pastrinator64 with another chapter from VOiD! Yesterday was yet another successful day, and I thank all of you who returned for the second chapter rather than abandon it. So, I've got chapter #3 all ready to go, but before we dive in I believe it's time for replies to reviews!**

Replies To Reviews...

**Enderdude: **Yes it does, the Glitch has its own problems with anger issues. And thank you, I do like the chap as well.

**Somebody10101: **Really? Even if Mark and Vanessa actually got along, you seriously think I'd let them MARRY each other?! I'd butcher their kid's health! He/she'd have three eyes or a misshapen nose or something!

**Enderwolf: **Yeah, well, that's not how it ended, that was just for the mini-adventure I had at the end at each chapter, that last chapter was a bonus chapter showing the end of the OTHER adventure, not THE GLITCH adventure. Got it?

**CSICreeper: **Just to let you know, I'm not accepting any OCs yet, but I will be in later chapters. I will let everyone know when I need OCs, but now is not the time. When I ask for OCs later you can use what you put down, I don't care, just don't review with OC suggestions.

**Pugerto: **No, I am not doing a series or anything. I've already said that there were only three chapters to the Divination of Dimensions, and two of them have already been fulfilled, so I'd have to change the chapter amount right away. I think that once I'm done with VOiD I'll start a whole new fanfic. And yes, I have plenty of other ones flowing in my mind right now.

**YoshiEmblem: **Not judging.

**iliketoreviewthegoodstries: **I'm glad you've kept it in mind! Also, *brofist*. If you like giving OCs I'd suggest reading until you finish chapter six, because that's when I ask for OCs.

**samial723: **I take "awesome sweetness" literally. *shoves Poptart in mouth*

**Well, now that that's all said and done, how about we get on with the story?**

**Hello, this is Pastrinator64 with another chapter from VOiD. Last time on VOiD we watched as Mark awoke in the world of Minecraft. He was given a tour of the nearby mountain-set village by a boy named Lucas (and his pet Creeper Bonbon). Strangely enough, everyone in the village knew his parents, and after a long explanation from Lucas's mother he found out that his parents had saved the universe twenty years ago. Then he found out that it was HE who had to defeat the Glitch for the THIRD time (the first time had been 420 years ago by Minecraft's three rulers, so he was the third). Mark quickly found Vanessa in the nearby library, and they discussed what their journey might look like. Now we watch as Mark, Vanessa and tag-along Lucas set out to fulfill their destiny.**

**Now, let the story commence!**

* * *

_Chapter 3: The City Beneath The Dark_

Mark and Vanessa decided to stay at the Creeper's household for the night. They had nowhere else to stay, plus it was too late in the day for finding materials for a house and a bed.

* * *

The next morning Mark woke up feeling rejuvenated from the day before. He got up from bed and noticed that he was still wearing his clothes from the previous day, but for some reason he wasn't sweaty or anything. Mark figured that in the Minecraft world there was no such thing as sweat or stink unless you had a mod, so that made him feel a little better. Mark didn't have to do anything except get up out of bed, and he walked towards the door to leave his room.

After crossing through the hallway he found himself in the breakfast room. He sat down at the table next to Lucas and Bonbon, who had both already gotten up. Vanessa was sitting at the opposite side of the table eating an apple and reading "Moby Dick". She didn't even look up when Mark started talking to Lucas.

"So, what am I supposed to bring for this, um, journey?"

"Basic supplies like food, armor, weapons, tools, wood, and a bed. With that stuff we should be fine. Wait, so where are we going anyway?" asked Lucas.

Mark thought about that for a moment. Then he realized that he had absolutely no clue whatsoever.

"Hey, where's your mom? She should know."

Lucas jumped up from his seat and ran off, calling out,

"I'll go get her!"

Mark sat there for a moment, but then turned and walked over to Vanessa, who still had her nose buried in the pages of her book.

"Vanessa?"

"Mmm?"

"Are you prepared to leave?"

Vanessa looked up and said,

"Where are we leaving, anyway?"

"I don't know. Lucas is going to get Mrs. Creeper, I figured she could tell us."

A few minutes later Bailey came into the room with Lucas following behind. She approached Mark, and he said,

"Alright, I don't even know where I'm supposed to go. Is there a specific destination, or what?"

Bailey nodded and declared,

"The good Glitch—who changed its name to Salutem—lives in a castle of bedrock called the Void Palace inside The Void. The portal to the castle is nearby, inside the mountain behind ours."

Mark nodded and said,

"Yeah, I know, that's where I spawned; right next to the Void portal."

Bailey nodded herself and then said,

"Good, then you already know where it is." she turned around and called out, "Benedict!"

Benedict the butler came into the room quickly holding a box—a mod that lets you store items inside the box then destroy the block without removing the items from it. He placed the box on the ground and said,

"I have all of Master Mark's supplies ready, Mistress Bailey."

He bowed and walked away briskly. Bailey opened up the box and took out a full stack of porkchops, a full stack of steak, a full stack of cooked chicken, and finally a full stack of cooked fish.

"You'll need food for your trip, and this should be plenty for you while you kill animals on your own." she said.

She reached inside the box and pulled out a diamond shovel, a diamond pickaxe, a diamond hoe, a flint and steel, a fishing pole, and a pair of shears.

"Also, use these tools until you get your own. I believe that my son already has a diamond axe and—" she saw the diamond sword from Lucas in Mark's hand, so she adds, "And I guess you've already got a diamond sword."

As she was turning around to pick more things out of the box Mark could hear her whispering to herself.

"Oh my gosh, I'm actually helping Norman's son! Yippee!" she murmured.

Then she came back out with a bow and a full stack of arrows.

"This should be of some use if you're ever in the Nether and have to fight Ghasts." she nodded to the bow, which Mark noticed was glowing. "This bow is enchanted with Flame I, so it will set enemies on fire."

Mark grinned a little. He always enjoyed playing with fire in Minecraft. In fact, the fire block was his favorite block, and he hacked his inventory and griefed other servers with it all the time. Actually, most of the time he was too lazy to do that, so instead he used a flint and steel as his favorite weapon. He took the bow and held it in his hands. He noticed that everything had a little white number above themselves showing how many were in that stack, and he shrugged, figuring that that would be useful. Although, Mark didn't have an inventory or hotbar, so he was stuck holding all of his items at once.

Bailey noticed this and reached again into the box, pulling out a block-shaped backpack. It was another of those Blockpacks like Lucas had.

"This is a Blockpack. Inside is your inventory and small crafting grid. Now, with your hotbar," she reached for one final time into the box. She pulled out a flimsy strip of some transparent material with white grid boxes printed over the surface. She walked over and took Mark's left arm, then pressed the flimsy sheet onto the skin of it, and in a few seconds the hotbar strip was inserted into his arm completely painlessly. As Mark flexed his arm, so did his hotbar. He held all of his items toward the grid boxes on the hotbar and they shrunk, inserting themselves into each grid. What couldn't fit in the hotbar remained in his other hand.

Mark took the rest of his supplies and put them inside his new Blockpack, and he looked back down at the mini versions of items inserted into the hotbar on his arm. He couldn't even feel them, it was almost as though they weren't even there!

Mark grinned even wider and looked up at Bailey.

"Thanks, Mrs. Creeper! I can see why my mom and dad are friends with you." he murmured.

She smiled and said,

"You're welcome. I'll do anything for Norman and Lizzy's kid. Speaking of which," she noticed Vanessa still sitting at the other end of the table reading "Moby Dick" and added, "What about your sister. Vanessa, is it?"

Mark nodded and then muttered,

"She's a bit busy right now; she spends most of her time outside of this world and inside a book."

Mark could practically feel Vanessa roll her eyes at his comment.

"I'll make sure she knows how to pick up some kind of weapon..." he added.

Bailey pursed her lips.

"Alright then. Well," she clapped her hands together. "I guess you three must be going. Please take care of Lucas, I don't want my little sugarboo to get—"

Lucas groaned and protested,

"Moooooooooommmmmm..."

Mark walked over and tapped Vanessa on the shoulder.

"Alright, time to go." he said.

Vanessa sighed and stood up, then closed her book shut. Lucas came after them, waving goodbye to his mom. When they stepped out of the front doors of the Creeper mansion they were greeted with a swarm of other people, all cheering. There were some villagers, but mostly other Minecraftians. Mark and Vanessa and Lucas made their way through the cheering crowd in about five minutes, and in another two minutes they stepped off of the last ladder and onto the grassy plains.

Lucas looked back at his village on the mountain and waved to the crowds, smiling sadly, and then he turned around to follow Mark.

"So, where are we going? Are we going to meet Salutem? Is he really nice?"

"I don't think that it's a he, Lucas. It doesn't have a gender."

"Oh, then is IT really nice? Do you think it looks like the Glitch? How could you tell them apart by the looks of it, do you suppose? You know, my mom always said that strangers—"

Vanessa whirled around and raised "Moby Dick", saying,

"Kid, you're going to get a bad whack on the head with this thing if you don't stop asking so many questions!"

Lucas held up his arms and said,

"Sorry, I just like talking!"

Suddenly, Vanessa sneered and said,

"What's that green thing?"

Lucas turned around and saw that Bonbon the baby Creeper had followed them.

"Bonbon! Bad girl, you should have stayed with your daddy Butterball!" he scolded.

Lucas looked far back at the mountain village, which was beginning to fade farther off into the distance.

"Well, it's too late to go back now, I guess that you're coming with us. Would you like that, Bonbon?"

Bonbon made a friendly little hiss and jumped up, playfully nudging Lucas's shoulder. Mark could care less, just as long as the thing didn't blow up on them randomly. They continued to walk, and Lucas continued to talk.

"So, how did you get here? What about you, Vanessa? Do you like being in Minecraft? What's it like in your world? Do they have as much wildlife as they do here? Do they have Creepers? Or zombies, or spiders, or Endermen? Do they believe in the Aether there? Do they believe in the Nether, too? Do YOU believe in those dimensions? Do you think that we'll be able to enter The Void safely? Wouldn't we just fall right down into the darkness? Huh? Mark?"

Their walk went on like that for another ten minutes, but finally they had scaled that mountain, and now they were on top of the one with the gigantic cave. Mark looked down into the hole that was the entrance, then slowly inched his way inside. He led Vanessa, Lucas, and Bonbon down inside. Vanessa kept complaining that her pages kept getting crumpled, and finally Mark just muttered,

"I'm gonna crumple you up if you don't shut your mouth."

After what seemed forever they all reached the floor of Last Fall Cave. Mark faced the gigantic Void portal again, watching its black portal matter shift around inside the bedrock frame. He took a deep breath, then started walking towards it. When he was about halfway there, he stopped for a moment, and turned around. Lucas and Bonbon were following him, but Vanessa was hanging back, looking very hesitant.

"Come on, Vanessa! I'm sure it can't be THAT bad!" called out Mark.

Vanessa grunted and slowly walked forward, muttering,

"What I wouldn't give to be back at home in bed with only my book and LOTS of peaceful silence."

Mark finally made his way to the portal frame, and he took another deep breath, and then stepped into the black portal matter.

Mark felt extremely cold and sick as he was being transported in between dimensions (inside the Minecraft Dimension, of course). Finally, he came through the other end, and he opened his eyes. But he was still in darkness. He was also falling. Mark became panicked, and hopelessly he plummeted down into the darkness of The Void. He expected to land on something, but he never did. After a couple minutes of falling, he no longer felt anything, and his game crashed, sending him into a lethal state of slumber. In fact, he no longer felt the pain of falling out of the world...

* * *

Mark woke up lying on a patch of warm grass. He slowly opened his eyes, but then quickly shut them and groaned after suddenly staring directly at the sun. He turned onto his side and opened his eyes, looking to the side. He found himself staring at a small pond surrounded by sand. There were trees behind it, too.

Mark slowly stood up and looked around at his surroundings. He was standing on a patch of bright green grass, oak trees surrounding him. There was the pond to his right, but also one to his left. Flowers grew all over in the grass. It was all so beautiful, and Mark was deeply amazed by it all.

Suddenly, he felt a nudge on his leg and looked down to see a baby pig staring cutely up at him. He laughed and patted the creature on the head. Two more baby pigs came up and tried to jump on his leg. Then the mother and father pigs came from out of the trees and oinked at the baby pigs, making them turn around and scuttle towards their parents.

Mark looked around again at the beautiful nature scene before him. He looked up in the sky and saw blue skies with almost no clouds. There was no Void fog or anything.

"How the heck did I get back in the Overworld?" he thought to himself.

Mark wandered into the forest to look for Vanessa and Lucas and possibly Bonbon.

"Hey guys? Hello? Vanessa? Lucas? Bonbon? Is anyone even there?!"

Of course, no one answered him except his echo. Mark grumbled and kept wandering through the trees for some kind of civilization. After about a half hour he came out of the forest onto a stretch of plains. In the distance he saw something small gleaming in the sunshine. Mark ran towards the shining object, and finally he reached it. Looking down he saw a regular glass bottle. The bottle was rattling, and inside was a glowing cube of shifting black and white. Its black and white aura shifted around like mist inside. Mark noticed that it looked just like the strange black and white cube meteor that he had found that sucked him into Minecraft.

Mark looked around on the jar for a lid of some kind. In his mind he heard SpongeBob saying,

_"Put your hand on the lid. The lid! The lid, the lid, the lid, thelidlidlidlidlidlidlid..."_

Mark grunted in frustration when he couldn't find the lid. So instead, he lifted up the glass bottle with the black and white cube inside and then chucked it at the ground. But instead of shattering, it bounced right back, flashing with black and white. It rolled around on the ground for a moment and then stopped. Mark picked it up and looked at it. There wasn't a single scratch or dent.

Mark grumbled and looked around at the plains again. And then he saw was he was looking for: A village. He ran towards the civilization, but as he got closer he noticed that there were gigantic iron buildings stretching up into the high. There were roads with several rail paths for minecarts. It looked like a whole city. As Mark walked into the city. Players were everywhere! They all had a wild array of skins, and Mark had never seen so many Minecraft players in one place.

Mark stopped one player with an evil Pikachu skin by the name of Pikapika.

"Can you please tell me what this place is?" he asked.

Pikapika replied in a twisted and metallic Pikachu voice with,

"This is Invacuo City!"

"No, I mean this world! Are we inside The Void?"

"Oh yeah, we're in The Void, alright. Salutem created a secret world inside for it to retreat to during its vacation time. This planet as a whole is called Buenomalo."

Suddenly, a loud chorus of noteblocks rang somewhere from the center of town. Pikapika whirled around and said,

"Yes! The ERB Tournament is about to start!"

Mark watched as the hundreds of Minecraft players cheered and ran towards the town square. Mark followed after them, the lidless bottle clutched in one hand and his diamond sword in the other. He tried to keep up with Pikapika, and he shouted,

"Wait! What's ERB stand for?!"

Pikapika looked back at him while running and replied,

"Epic Rap Battle!"

Mark suddenly became interested and ran faster. After a minute of running he found Pikapika standing near the back of the hundreds of players in the crowd. Everyone was surrounding a huge stage in the town square. Mark could just barely see it. He watched as a man with a gentleman pig skin reached down into a chest on the stage and took out a microphone mod.

"Hello, everyone! Welcome to the annual 75th ERB Tournament!" the crowd cheered even harder. "Today I introduce our two contestants. Contestant number one, Tobyturner!"

Mark's mouth dropped open as Tobyturner walked out onto the stage, waving with a smile on his face. The Toby Turner (a.k.a. Tobuscus) on Earth had died hundreds of years ago in 2063! He couldn't possibly still be the host of TobyGames!

"Maybe his Minecraft avatar lived on after he died; his avatar is a computer file, after all..." Mark thought to himself.

Tobyturner took the microphone from the announcer and said,

"Hello once again, audience!"

Everyone in the crowd started cheering, going "toby! *clap! clap! clap!* turner! *clap! clap! clap!*" over and over. The pig gentleman guy took back the microphone and announced,

"And contestant number two, SkythekidRS!"

The famous squid-hating, butter-loving Youtuber stepped out onto the stage waving. People started shouting "Hey Sky, Sky, Sky, Sky!" to him, and he waved his gold sword in the air. Then he took the microphone and shouted,

"Take a shout for budder!"

People began to chant "Budder! Budder! Budder! Budder!" as he was twirling his sword around, letting it soak in the sunlight of the day. The gentleman pig guy took back the microphone and declared,

"These two famous Youtubers will be performing in an epic rap battle against each other! The winner will be awarded the honor of becoming the administrator of the city! There will be a vote count after the rap battle to decide the winner! Now, let us begin!"

The announcer gave his microphone over to Tobyturner and then handed SkythekidRS a different microphone to use. Tobyturner and SkythekidRS backed away from each other so that they were on opposite sides of the stage. Then the pig gentleman stepped off of the stage, and a quick rap-sounding tune began to play. Tobyturner started off the rap battle.

_"Hello once again, audience I am here._

_I never leave and always bring plenty of cheer._

_I bring lots of laughs, subscribers too,_

_Way more people like me than you!_

_You are an ugly, butter-chomping noob,_

_And your hate for those squids proves that you're a boob._

_I've never seen more arrogance than right here._

_Why are you so stiff and never so clear?"_

Then SkythekidRS paused for a moment to let the music take its course, but the moment later he called back at Tobyturner with,

_"You're such an idiot, you skinny green leprechaun!_

_It seems like you never know what's going on._

_Are you mental with those thoughts of yours?_

_Making Gabuscus kill zombies with a fork?_

_Nobody really likes you; your "audience" is gone._

_They only pretend that they love you, of your fans you have none._

_Your videos are pointless, even I feel unwell!_

_So go back where you came from, you ugly spawn of hell!"_

The crowd all went "ooh" after SkythekidRS finished, and Tobyturner was giving him the evil-eye.

_"Well what I don't understand is what your motive is._

_What did squids do to you to make you pissed?_

_Perhaps they took out your brain or train of thought?_

_If that is true, than that really explains A LOT._

_And what is with this crazy budder addiction?_

_The idea that this ore is all-power is fiction!_

_Budder is the worst material to be used in a war._

_Why not take diamond, it would surely cause more gore!"_

SkythekidRS looked even angrier than Tobyturner at the mention of "budder" not being as awesome as he portrayed it to be. As the rap was coming to an end, SkythekidRS shouted out his last lines.

_"All of my motives are much clearer than yours._

_And of course budder can cause much more gore!_

_All you ever do is shout out random mumble,_

_What goes in my ears are some words that are jumbled._

_Another thing, those derpy squids you talk about,_

_Are the worst things in the world that could've come out!_

_All they do is derp around, being the idiots that they are._

_So get off my back, and go back to your planet out on Mars!"_

About ten seconds later the song ended, and everyone in the crowd started cheering loud and hard. Pikapika turned around to face Mark and he said,

"Who do think will win? I think Tobyturner won, he rapped WAY better than SkythekidRS."

Mark snapped back into reality and looked at Pikapika. Then he remembered and looked down at the bottle in his hand with the black and white spirit inside. He quickly realized that he did not want to attract any attention to himself, so he immediately hid the bottle in his sweatshirt pocket.

"I dunno..." he muttered.

Suddenly, he looked down at his other hand and saw that something like a remote had appeared in his hand.

"What's this?" he asked.

Mark looked over to see that Pikapika had his own remote.

"This is what the crowd uses to vote on who was the better rapper. The top button is for Tobyturner and the bottom is for SkythekidRS." he explained in his metallic voice.

Mark looked at the two buttons, and decided that Tobyturner had done a lot better than SkythekidRS, so he pressed the top button. He looked around at everyone else in the audience vote, and in about two minutes both Youtubers and the pig gentleman dude came back onto the stage with another microphone and declared,

"The votes for the 75th ERB Tournament have been tallied!" people started cheering. "One of these famous Youtubers has become the admin of Invacuo City, and he won by a landslide! SkythekidRS received 119 votes for his performance, but the true star here was Tobyturner with an outstanding 381 votes!"

He walked over and raised Tobyturner's arm like he had just won a wrestling match.

"I introduce Tobyturner: the new administrator of Invacuo City!"

The crowds cheered loud and hard, shaking their fists and/or holding up signs that said, "WE LOVE YOU TOBY". If it weren't for the security guards that stood around the stage, a frenzied riot might have occurred. Finally, the pig gentleman walked took a badge out of his pocket and pinned it to Tobyturner's shirt, which read, "ADMINISTRATOR". Tobyturner raised his fists and shouted out in excitement. Then, the pig gentleman walked Tobyturner off the stage, closely followed by those security guards.

People tried to get at Tobyturner, but there were too many guards for the crowds to get through. Suddenly, Mark realized that maybe he could get help with opening the strange lidless container in his hand, that maybe Tobyturner knew how to get it open. He ran through the crowds, and Pikapika followed behind, shouting,

"Hey, Mark! Wait!"

But Mark kept running until he was against the wall of security guards. He tried to get Tobyturner's attention, but a security guard with a gleaming diamond sword pushed him back. Mark continued to try and talk to the new admin, but there were too many guards. The security guards led Tobyturner and the pig gentleman into the Block House where the administrator and all his family and staff lived and worked, and they disappeared through the padlocked iron doors, a useful mod that would make sure no one got in unless a combination was inputted.

Using his Minecraft knowledge and knowledge of servers, Mark knew that he could break into the building through the back because it wouldn't be protected once the old admin left, and that the new admin had to manually protect it once they became admin, therefore the Block House was vulnerable to breaking and entering. That was the only way he could get in, and at the moment he was desperate.

Mark ran out of the crowds and snuck to the back of the massive Block House. He reached back into the Blockpack full of supplies given to him by Mrs. Creeper and pulled out his diamond pickaxe. Then he waited for about five minutes for all of the guards to get inside the building. After those five minutes he turned around and swiftly tunneled through the gleaming blocks of quartz and soon found himself in the kitchen. There were many professional cooks creating gourmet mod foods left and right. Then, before he could make an escape a gluttonous cook spotted him and said,

"Thief!"

The fat cook and many others ran at Mark whilst swinging their kitchen tools. Mark hit the dirt and ran around the edge of the kitchen, knocking over pans and pots, breaking blocks underneath, spilling many containers and overall just doing more damage than he thought he needed to. Mark finally got to the other side of the kitchen and looked back to see all but one of the cooks struggling through a massive pile of muffins.

Mark ran up the stairs leading to the dining room and noticed that the one cook who escaped was still running after him, so he did not stop even when he saw people eating at the table. Unfortunately, the formal dining table stretched all the way around inside the room, so he had to jump up on top and continue running. Many of the diners screamed and shouted at him as he was plowing through their food to get away from the cook, but he didn't care, he was too keen on not getting his head sliced off by a meat cleaver.

While running, Mark looked behind him at the cook, who was very close behind, but at that exact moment he tripped over a plate of apples and landed smack on his face, splattering a huge bowl of mushroom soup all over the person in front of him. Slowly, he lifted his head up and looked at the splattered man in front of him. It was Tobyturner.

* * *

**And here is an example of how dedicated all my fans are! Thank you so very much for reviewing!**

**Alright then, now for some more QAA!**

**To Lucas: Who's your dad? Is it Quinn?**

Lucas: No, I don't have a dad. My mother adopted me, neither of us know who my real parents were... I wish I could meet them some day... *tear trickles down cheek*

**To Lizzy:**** Since you took Norman's last name, Cobweb, if you went back into Minecraft would you have cake or cobweb powers?**

Lizzy: I believe I would have cobweb powers, because I remember Norman's old friend Jeff Ironblock, and he had a wife, Esmeralda Ironblock, so I figure she took his last name and became an Ironblock. I'm very sure I have done the same. It's funny, because Norman had snap his fingers and make all the cobwebs in our basement disappear, so I guess a bit of his powers transferred over from Minecraft.

**To Norman: HOW'S LIZZ IN BED IF YA KNOW WHAT I MEAN**

Norman: How dare you make such rude comments about my personal life with Liz! Who're your parents?!

**To Lucas: Does Butterball give you free caffeine every day?**

Lucas: What do you mean, Butterball is the family Creeper! How would he give me caffeine? I think you mean my mom, because yes, she does let me have as many sodas as I want. (We got an unlimited amount of the soda mod as a gift from Notch since my mom served in the war against the Glitch.) :DDDD

**To the awesomest bad guy out there [Besides Eggman] The Glitch!: Why do people hate you so much? Everyone likes a bad guy and you're Tied for 1st Your competitor being Eggman also how were you created?**

The Glitch: _You dare compare me to that mustached poultry product?! I am disgusted by you... Also, can you seriously not know why people hate me?! It has been my life's goal to consume, destroy, swallow, KILL! Is that not enough of a hint?! Also, if you haven't read the prequel for this book *fourth wall shatters once again* I was created from the viruses and bugs in the technology bought by the people living on that miserable mud-ball you call Earth. I can still remember Professor Explotar's face when I came out of his virus-trapping machine and possessed him! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!_

**To Salutem**: **What has happened over the last twenty years?**

Salutem: Well, all of the people in the Minecraft Dimension have been partying day and night, it was a very special occasion, as you could imagine. Since I got out of The Void because of Notch's kindness I was invited to nearly thousands of parties during that time. I very much wish to be a part of that again sometime. :D

**To the Glitch: Do you need a hug?**

The Glitch: _HOW ABOUT WE FIND OUT? MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!  
_

**To everyone: You do know that this is a story and you are being controlled by a dude who is sugar crazy and calls himself Super Pasty and also Pastrinator64?**

Everyone: Yes, we've all accepted the fact that our lives are complete lies. *fourth wall shatters, sending millions of bits of itself all over the world*

**Finally, I have finished the character roster for Pastrinator64's mini-adventure! Aaaaaand here it is!**

**1. Pastrinator64 (no derf)**

**2. Enderdude**

**3. Pixelized Pikale and Company**

**4. Gin Ketsueki**

**5. Striker Hutassa**

**Alright, there has been a change in plans. I will not be putting a snippet of the adventure at the end of each chapter, but instead as an entire short-story, which I will post as the last chapter on VOiD when it comes to an end.**

**Also, I have gotten an OC already, but remember that I am NOT accepting OCs at the moment. I will let you know when I need an OC, but please, do not send in any right now, because they will not be accepted.**

**But for now, this is Pastrinator64, and I'll see you later with chapter numbah four!**

***throws sugar bomb, disappears in a cloud of fine white sugar***

**Byyyyyeeeeee...**

**~Pastrinator64 [~]**


	4. Chapter 4: Fleeing From The Ruins

**Hello, this is Pastrinator64 with another chapter from VOiD. Yesterday's chapter was UBER-SUCCESSFUL, and had over the regular nine reviews! Thank you all, thank you once again! Now then, how about some replies to reviews?**

Replies To Reviews...

**CSICreeper: **That's perfectly ok.

**Star223: **Well thank you very much! :3 And that's ok if you have a lot of questions, I don't have a limit to how many you ask.

**Enderdude: **I'm glad that you're thankful, remember that I'll have the whole mini-adventure as a bonus chapter when VOiD comes to an end. Also, I'm sorry, but personally I think Tobyturner is WAY better than SkythekidRS, so it only made sense for him to win, since I'm the one writing all this.

**Somebody10101: **Don't worry, they're the only Youtubers that appear at all. Also, I fixed the typo, thank you for pointing that out, I would've never caught that. I'm not sure if the entire story itself will be twice as long, it's just the chapters, which I'm doing to minimize the amount of chapters. (I don't know if you read THE GLITCH, but I had a ridiculous amount of chapters.)

**Guest: **Yes, Tobyturner was bursting with excitement on becoming the admin. On an added note, Lucas forgives you.

**Enderblazehybrid: **I don't know, I never thought about that. I think that they DO have the powers, they just don't know it. I might make it that way, I'm still deciding.

**Enderwolf: **Maybe, because those five characters are just the main adventurers. There will be other side-characters, you'll probably appear as one of those. You never know, you might be the villain! ;D

**CSICreeper: **HAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII! X333333

**Alrighty then! Now that I've got all my replies in, it's time for the actual story!**

**Hello, this is Pastrinator64 with another chapter from VOiD. Last time on VOiD we watched as Mark, Vanessa, Lucas and his pet baby Creeper dubbed Bonbon all went back into the Falling Mountains to find Last Fall Cave. Once inside, they entered the Void portal sitting in the dark, but Mark found himself separated from his other three companions. He woke up in a place much like the Overworld, and he had a mysterious lidless bottle in his hand, which held a shifting black and white cube. Curious for answers, Mark explored the forest and plains around him, eventually coming to Invacuo City, where he found many other Minecraftians like him rather than villagers. After watching an Epic Rap Battle between the famous Tobyturner and equally-famous SkythekidRS he followed the winning Tobyturner for answers, and eventually was forced to break into Tobyturner's new administrator building; the Block House. Now we find him caught by security inside, so what will his fate come to be?**

**Now, let the story commence!**

* * *

_Chapter 4: Fleeing From The Ruin__s_

The next thing Mark knew his arms were both pinned behind his back by a security guard. He struggled to break free and escape, but the guard held him tight and put his diamond sword to his throat.

"Don't move." he muttered.

Mark didn't even dare to breathe, and stared at Tobyturner, who was wiping all of the mushroom soup off his face and shirt. Once he was finished he said,

"Ok, who're you?"

Mark paused for a moment, but then answered,

"Mark Cobweb."

Suddenly, Tobyturner's eyes widened and he ran forward, raising his arm.

"Mechapixel let him go now! That's Norman Cobweb's son! I bet he married Lizzy Cake and had a son, the kid right in front of us!" he declared, shaking Mark's hand.

"There they go again with the whole "you are famous beyond compare" thing..." Mark thought to himself.

All of the fifty or so people sitting around the gigantic dinner table got out of their seats and rushed to try and talk to Mark, who was instantly crowded uncomfortably. After about a minute of that chaos, Tobyturner got all his security guards into the dining room to fend off all of the dinner-goers. Once everyone was quiet he turned and grinned at Mark.

"Mark Cobweb, how did you get from Earth to the Minecraft Dimension?" he asked.

"I got teleported by this black and white cube comet thing while walking home from a party. The reason I came in here in the first place was to ask you about opening this lidless jar, which has something just like a miniaturized version of the comet." replied Mark.

He held out the jar with the black and white cube, and Tobyturner's eyes widened even more. He grabbed the jar and said,

"This looks like the Balance Core! It is the block that restores the balance between the good and evil elements of the entire Minecraft Dimension!" Tobyturner put on a dramatic voice and declared, "There are three chapters to the Divination Of Dimensions, which is the greatest inter-dimensional prophecy in existence. The first chapter—named THE RULER SAGA—said that the Glitch would rise up from the mutated viruses of all technology on Earth and terrorize the Earth, but a year later would be absorbed by the three rulers of the Minecraft Dimension and their E.S.C. supercomputer, then be sealed away in The Void for 400 years. The first chapter was fulfilled.

"The second chapter—named THE HERO SAGA—said that the Glitch would return from its prison in The Void 400 years after its first defeat, then become more powerful by absorbing the matter of all dimensions in the universe, and attempt to consume all of the dimensions in existence in a black hole of cold and darkness. But, that after just over a year it would be sealed inside the same E.S.C. supercomputer that absorbed it in the past, and that the six heroes and two Ultra Heroes would keep Fate on its course, ensuring that the Glitch would once again be absorbed and sealed away inside The Void with even more power.

"But now we see the third chapter, the last chapter—named THE CORE SAGA—of the Divination Of Dimensions. It is said in the third chapter that the two ultimate heroes would marry and have children, who, twenty years later, would return to the Minecraft Dimension for their own quest. It is said that the Glitch absorbed from the second chapter has already regained its strength through its 20-year super-concentrated energy meditation, and that it has learned to harness The Void for itself. It has risen up from The Void's depths, turning Salutem's—the Glitch absorbed from the second chapter that turned good and is now known as Salutem—Void Palace into its own, and taking control of Salutem's plasma mass army, turning them all evil and mutated. Now it is searching everywhere for the Balance Core, and is bent on taking control of it to mutate the entire Minecraft Dimension. Once it takes over using the power of the Balance Core it will harness its awesome power to overcome every dimension in existence, one by one, and will soon become more powerful than it has ever been. It is said that the Ultra Hero will defeat the Glitch with the help the other Great Heroes, although the exact number of Great Heroes that will help you in the end is unknown."

Tobyturner switched to his normal dramatic voice and added,

"So, basically, you're the Ultra Hero of the third chapter and it's your duty to save the universe with the help of an unknown group of Great Heroes."

Mark made a groaning kind of noise and then said,

"Okaaaaaayyyyyy, I was NOT expecting that..."

"Ah, you'll be awesome!" he held up the bottle with the Balance Core and said, "This you'll need to keep VERY safe, it might fall into the wrong hands. It was originally placed in the center sanctuary in the Aether, but then the Glitch stole it before it was absorbed into the E.S.C. supercomputer from chapter and attempted to take it when it was sealed away in The Void. But, as it was plunging into The Void, it lost the Balance Core, which fell into the black hole inside The Void that connects this dimension to all the others in existence. For those twenty years it wandered, falling and falling through empty space, until finally, one day, it fell through into your dimension on Earth, the 3rd Dimension. It was Fate working her magic again!"

"Um, her?" murmured Mark.

Tobyturner shrugged and said,

"I don't know, they always say "she" and "her" when they talk about Fate, I have no idea why. Now then, what you need to do is go see Rexum the Fortuneteller for your first instructions, he will be able to tell you what to do. He lives somewhere downtown. Good luck, Mark!"

Mark was about to leave awkwardly when Tobyturner stopped him and pulled out a necklace from his own neck. It had a Nugget In A Biscuit attached the to the end.

"Here's my good luck charm. You might as well have it." he put the necklace on Mark.

Mark looked down at the Nugget In A Biscuit good luck charm and suddenly remembered the other good luck charm that his father had passed down to him. He fingered the Poptart necklace resting cool against his chest and remembered his father saying that his mother had given it to him when they were kids, and that it was his to pass down to future generations. Now he had two good luck charms.

"I hope I get double the good luck, then." he thought.

Mark left the dining room, and as soon as he was out of view of everyone he took off running.

"I'm glad to be out of THERE." he muttered to himself.

Mark exited the Block House after about five minutes of running through the maze of rooms. He stepped out onto the street and looked around. He made his way to the town square and looked at a group of signs near the stage. At the bottom of the line of signs was one board of wood that had an arrow pointing south with the words "DOWNTOWN INVACUO" printed on it.

Mark ran down the southern road for about five more minutes until he reached a part of town where the sunshine seemed blocked off from. All of the small buildings were close together, not giving him more than two blocks of moving space. In the center of the downtown buildings he saw a tent made of dark green wool sitting amongst all of the wood buildings.

He approached the tent flap and looked at the two signs placed nearby, which read,

REXUM THE FORTUNETELLER

OPEN 24/7

FREE HERBAL TEABAGS

BASIC FORTUNE = 3 GOLD INGOTS

DETAILED FORTUNE = 6 GOLD INGOTS

FULLY-DETAILED STEP-BY-STEP FORTUNE = 12 GOLD INGOTS

Mark looked at the tent flap again, shrugged, and then stepped inside. The inside of the tent was poorly lit, and the air was heavily perfumed, and Mark had a lot of difficulty taking in a breath. Then the song "Harder To Breath" by Maroon 5 started to play, and he rolled his eyes. The thick blanket of perfume and the dimly lit room made it difficult to see, as well, and Mark knocked over a couple of chairs before finally managing to sit in one that was near the fortune table.

"Hello, Mark Cobweb. Welcome to my sanctuary..."

A man walked out from the shadows. He looked extremely ancient with his wrinkled skin, pale, icy-blue eyes and dry, silver hair. He had a pair of dark green robes, tattered and dusty. In his skeletal hands he held a cube of a strange misty-covered silverish ice. On each face of the cube was a small hole, showing the inside where shifting clouds swirled around. The man—presumably Rexum the Fortuneteller—placed the block on the fortune table and sat down in the chair.

"This is my Eyestone, made from Icestone brought all the way from the Aether and with a core of swirling cold Aercloud. Now then, put your dominant hand into the core, my son..." murmured Rexum.

Rexum grabbed Mark's hand and led it into the hole. Mark shivered and muttered,

"Holy crap, that's cold..."

Rexum said nothing for a minute, but then put his own bony hand through the other hand, and inside of the core they clasped their hands together. He closed his eyes and tightened his grip, and after about ten seconds he muttered,

"Who and what, where and why, when and how... Show me all, stars, show me now. Sun, moon and stars; show me..."

Suddenly, Mark watched as all of his surroundings blurred and he, the Eyestone and Rexum were plunged into darkness. A swirl of green stars swirled around them, glowing and humming. After about ten seconds, a green beams of light burst from out of the holes in the Eyestone, blinding Mark. He shut his eyes closed, and the next second later he opened his eyes again and they were back inside the tent with the heavily perfumed air. Rexum then opened his own eyes and declared,

"You must travel to the center of Buenomalo and find the Void Transport, which will take you directly up through The Void above and into Salutem's Void Palace. From there you locate the portal room inside the fortress and enter the portal leading to the Aether. Then, travel across the Aether until you reach Notch's Aether Palace of wool, where you will place the Balance Core back on its alter. Once it is back in the Aether, its full power will be restored, and the Glitch will not be able to obtain it."

"Wait a minute," said Mark, squinting one eye. "I thought that the Aether Palace was made of Holystone, not wool."

"After the first chapter occurred, most of the Aether had been destroyed in the process of the war, and so Notch and his Mojang crew have been rebuilding the entire fortress with whatever they can obtain the easiest, and whatever is the least important to lose. Also, the rest of the Aether was reduced to merely the Aerclouds that float below, as all of the floating islands of the Aether fell from the sky and into an ocean of the Overworld below. This also caused the extinction of all living things that lived there. But do not worry, for Notch and his Mojang crew have been working since then to restore the Aether to its normal form, and maybe even add some new creatures." said Rexum, taking his hand out of the Eyestone.

Mark also took his hand out and rubbed it, still nearly frostbitten from the being inside the freezing core.

"So, how am I going to find the center of this planet where the Void Transport is?"

"You must first travel to the ancient Temple Of Day And Night. There lives the Mastermind, who will help direct you towards the center of Buenomalo. Now, go on, leave my tent and follow Fate on your important journey."

And that's exactly what Mark did. He quickly got up, awkwardly said his thanks, and then rushed out of the tent.

"Why couldn't Tobyturner recommend me to someone who isn't a crazy old cat lady... Man... Whatever..."

Mark ran in between the buildings until he was outside again. As he was running back to the town square he looked up at the Void sun—which looked exactly like the sun on the Overworld—began to lower towards the horizon, creating a nice sunset. He finally reached the town square after about six or seven minutes, a minute or two longer than it had taken him to get there than back considering all of the heavy perfume he breathed in.

Mark looked around to see that everyone around him were going into the buildings all around, supposedly to their own apartments, since he could not see any individual houses down the street. As he was watching people, he noticed that everyone was very frantic about being out at night, and they were really rushing to get inside. He just shrugged and headed out of the city onto the plains. He took off his Blockpack and set it down on the ground.

"It's a good thing I don't need to build myself a house, admins always have their lots protected. Let's see, where's a bed I can use..."

He found his bed and set it on the ground. Then he crawled underneath the covers and sighed. He was tired from his journey so far, but in his mind he just couldn't stop thinking about everything that had happened.

"Man, I wish I knew where Vanessa and Lucas and Bonbon ended up. They'd better be alright; otherwise I might die of guilt."

After he was done thinking about what was going to happen, he fell into a comfortable sleep under the stars.

* * *

Suddenly, in the middle of the night Mark awoke to something hot and sickening laying on top of him. He opened his eyes and looked at his red covers. They had turned green, and something sickening and poisonous was seeping into his chest from the sheet. Mark quickly tried to get out of the covers, but his head was stuck to the pillow, which had turned into something thick and sticky. Suddenly, a cubical bloodshot eyeball rose up out of his sheets from a prickly brain stem and stared at him. Then its pupil opened up, revealing pointy teeth, and it made an otherworldly noise.

Mark screamed and launched himself from the mutated bed, and he wrenched his head free of the slimy pillow. He jumped away from the bed and attempted to make a run for it, but the eyeball stretched out like an angry cobra and wrapped its prickly brain stem around Mark's leg. Mark screamed again and pulled his leg, trying to get the creature off, which was growling at him and grumbling.

Mark reached back in his backpack, his hands shaking, and pulled out his diamond sword. He grunted and sliced it through the creature, and his leg was free again. He ran away from his mutated bed, but something else started to wrap around his legs. He looked down and saw that the tall grass had turned to oozing blue tendrils, which were wrapping around his legs to drag him to the ground. Mark kept fumbling and making nervous sounds, and he ran in the other direction, and out of the patch of mutated tall grass.

While he was running across the landscape, he looked up in the sky to see the moon had changed as well. It had grown wide bloodshot eyeballs, and a crooked mouth with blood flowing from the teeth. Its eyes were following him, and suddenly, the moon opened its mouth and lashed out a bloodied tongue, and it cackled.

Mark shook his head and started muttering nervously to himself about dying. He ran until he was underneath the cover of the trees. Somewhere in the forest he heard the creepy film score for the movie "Beetlejuice" playing, only adding to his fear. Suddenly, he heard a hiss behind him and whirled around, expecting a Creeper, but instead it was the tree. The tree suddenly lifted up out of the ground and crawled at Mark on its roots, like a giant bark-covered spider.

Mark screamed and ran away, the tree chasing behind, its limbs outstretched. He ran around the tendril grass and past his sludgy mutant bed. Finally he was back inside Invacuo City.

He breathed heavily and looked around. The stage in the town square was covered in poisonous spikes. The ground was like jello, and Mark started to sink into the ground. He kept moving, and when he looked down he could see countless little eyeballs swimming around inside, all staring at him as he went.

"What the heck is wrong with everything?!"

Suddenly, the floor beneath him rumbled and he fell through into the sickening purple jello. He was swarmed by a bunch of the tiny eyeballs, which all screeched and bit him with their tiny teeth. Mark's screams were muffled by the thick jello around him. He was hurt, ready to pass out, and scared out of his wits. But then, something grabbed his flailing hands from above and he was wrenched out of the jello.

Mark gasped, taking in a breath of ice cold air. He was blinded by the jello, and the eyeball fish had bitten around his eyes, swelling them up, and with both those two contributors he could barely see. He only could feel the bony hand that was clasped around his.

After being dragged through the streets by an unknown source for about three minutes he was finally set down on a cool surface. Something was poured into one of his eyes, and he was able to open it again. He was looking into the face of that old man Rexum, who was holding a wooden bucket full of some blue liquid.

"What... Uh..."

"Shhh, do not speak, let me heal your other eye, boy."

The blue liquid was poured into his other eye, and he opened it painlessly. But then, as he was sitting up to look around his vision turned slightly green.

"Woah, what's happening?"

"It's the aftereffect of the remedy."

Mark looked at Rexum and said,

"Remedy?"

"Yes," he set down the bucket near him and said, "Brought directly from the Aether."

Mark took in a deep breath and said,

"What's going on outside?" he looked around and noticed that they were back in the fortune tent. "Why isn't your place all mutated?"

Rexum put an ancient finger to Mark's mouth and said,

"Please, let me speak. This world has turned evil. The Balance Core once was pure white, but after the Glitch attempted to steal it and bring it down into The Void after its defeat, all of that changed. Just by touching the precious block, the Glitch injured its code, turning half of its aura black and evil. That bottle you have there," Rexum gestured towards the Balance Core in the bottle that was still clutched by Mark's hand. "Holds the now black and white Balance Core. Now, whenever night falls, all blocks, entities, and even the environment around you, it all evolves to kill people. Everything mutates to their most lethal state. The grass strangles, the trees chase, even the moon will try to lick you off the face of the Overworld and eat you.

"We hope that the third chapter of the Divination of Dimensions will be fulfilled, and that possibly we will be able to restore the Balance Core before its negative effects spread to the rest of the Minecraft Dimension. The Glitch tumbled with it into The Void, and since we live here inside The Void it has affected us first. Everyone is forced to take shelter in the buildings where it is the safest. No one in Invacuo City sleeps, and we are forced to always be alert. We have an extreme problem on our—"

Suddenly, there was a scream from outside. Rexum stood up from his chair and walked outside, clutching a knotted staff made of a gold-spotted wood. He assumed that it was golden oak from the Aether as well—this old man seemed to have everything from the Aether. He looked outside, and Mark quickly got up, looking out of the tent flap as well.

"Oh... Crap..."

Fire was everywhere, monsters were attacking the people, and everything was blowing up left and right. Rexum quickly grabbed Mark's wrist and pulled him out into the eyeball-jello street.

"Keep hold of my hand."

Rexum raised his golden oak staff and brought it on the ground. A glittery gold box appeared around them, five blocks in each direction.

"This will protect us. Run." said Rexum.

So Mark kept hold of Rexum's ancient hand and he was pulled along. They ran out of the city, and every time something mutated would try to attack them it would be restored to its non-lethal state inside the force field, then turn mutated once outside of it. Mark looked back while running with the surprisingly athletic old man and gasped when he saw his friend Pikapika being dragged down to the ground by the tendril grass.

"HELP! MARK, HELP ME! HELP!" he screamed in his metallic Pikachu voice.

Mark stared back at Pikapika, and then looked beyond where the bombing of Invacuo City did not reach. They were being attacked, and they had to get away. But he looked back at Pikapika, who was screaming out at him, slowly being dragged to the ground by the evil blue tendrils. Finally, Mark could stand it no more, and he broke away from Rexum's hand. Rexum called out to him,

"Mark Cobweb! Stop now! We must get to safety!"

But Mark couldn't do it. Once he was by the grass patch he began to swing his sword, slicing all of the tendrils to shards. He grabbed Pikapika's hand and pulled him away from the evil patch of grass, but unfortunately, one of the tendrils grabbed Mark's shoulder and wrenched off his entire Blockpack. But he couldn't go back for it, and after a minute of running they finally caught up with the old man inside his force field. They ran through the nearby forest, dodging an abundance of creepified mobs.

Finally, after almost an hour of being on the move, the two boys and the old man stopped on the border of a desert and the plains. The sun had finally risen, and as Mark looked around him, the sand of the desert that once was quicksand returned to its normal state, and the trees and grass and everything from the forest was also restored. Rexum sighed in exhaustion and the protection box around them dematerialized. He sat down on the ground, his tattered green robes stretched out flat. Pikapika looked awkwardly at Mark and said,

"Hey, um, thanks for saving me back there. I thought you'd leave me to die, or something."

"Hey, I couldn't do that."

They stopped there for rest, and Mark thought to himself,

"Great, as soon as I get to Invacuo City it all gets bombed by some idiot and I've got to flee from its ruins. Oh, thank God that none of us are dead."

So they began their new house there. Mark walked out towards the forest and felt behind him to grab an axe from his Blockpack. Then he remembered that the tendril grass blades had grabbed it from him while he was saving Pikapika.

"Ah, COME ON!" he shouted, kicking the dirt angrily.

Pikapika was busy chopping the tree next to him with his pitch black fist.

"What?"

"I had a whole Blockpack stuffed full of supplies, and those grass blades took it from me, dang it!"

Pikapika raised his hands and said,

"Woah! Calm down! We'll make new supplies!"

Mark sighed and said,

"Sorry. You're right, I just need to chill. Hey, I just realized, how do you know my name?"

"Your username is floating above you and it says "Mark Cobweb".

Mark looked up and saw his own username floating over his head, shrugged, and then the two of them started with chopping down more trees. So they chopped down ten oak trees with just their bare hands. Mark felt a little funny doing it, since he was used to just left clicking on the mouse to break everything. Now that he didn't have an inventory or small crafting grid he was forced to carry everything on his own. Apparently, Pikapika had also lost his Blockpack during the ordeal, so neither of them had inventories, only the hotbars that were printed on their arms.

Since they couldn't change the wood into wood planks with the small crafting grid they didn't have they just used their wood logs directly to build a 8x6x4 log cabin. That was all that they could do at the moment, and they would have to wait until someone came along who had a Blockpack.

So, in other words, the three of them were completely and utterly stranded.

* * *

**Creepy, creepy, and uber-creepy. That was one too many mutants for me! 0_o**

**Now then, how about some QAA?**

**To the Glitch: You don't have to be a f**king b*tch about it Why don't you fight me IRL?**

The Glitch: _FFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUU... OH YEAH?! COME AT ME BRO! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!_

**To the Glitch: Why do your posts always end with MWAHAHA... etc.?**

The Glitch: _MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHAHA BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE IT, THAT'S ALL THE REASON I NEED MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHAHA!_

**To Vanessa: ****Why the glob won't you wield a weapon?! You're in a world full of monsters, I would use a weapon if I were you.**

Vanessa: No! I refuse to carry something so dangerous! *humphs and sticks nose back in book*

**To Tobyturner: ****How do you feel getting splashed in the face with mushroom stew?**

Tobyturner: Actually, it was quite delicious. Not as delicious as Nugget In A Biscuit, though.

**To Norman and Lizzy: ****Do you know that your kids are in Minecraft like you once were?**

Norman: What?

Lizzy: What?

**To Lizzy: How do you describe your adventure and why didn't you tell mark about it as he is crazy about Minecraft?**

Lizzy: Ah, being with Norman back in Minecraft was the best adventure of my life! And yes, Mark is crazy about Minecraft, he plays it every day.

**Alright, but for next time, how will Mark and his new friends handle the wild? Will they all survive for the rest of the quest? Find out NEXT chapter in VOiD!**

**But for now, this is Pastrinator64, and I'll see you later with chapter numbah five!**

***throws sugar bomb, disappears in a cloud of fine white sugar***

**Byyyyyeeeeee...**

**~Pastrinator64 [~]**


	5. Chapter 5: The Undead Knight

**Hello, this is Pastrinator64 with another chapter from VOiD. I have been waiting a long time for this chapter (well, really not that long) for a special and revealing reason. In this chapter we learn something interesting about Mark's friends... But first, let's get on with some replies to reviews!**

Replies To Reviews

**clubby789: **Oh no, I wasn't annoyed, that was the Glitch talking. The Glitch was angry for being compared to anyone, that wasn't me talking. I took it as a compliment while the Glitch answered the question like it was an insult.

**Somebody10101: **You know, you're asking a lot of revealing questions that I can't yet answer. And no, Mark was not on crack when he saw all that. -_- But with the avatar thing you asked about, that'll actually be answered in this chapter.

**Enderdude: **Yeah, Tobyturner is a boss. I watched his very first Happy Wheels episode and it was hilarious! He was NOT expecting anything like that! XDDDD Also, why are you bored? Do you mean my chapter is boring?

**MyLittleMuffinZ: **Yeah, "wow" is how a lot of people described THE GLITCH.

**CSICreeper: **Are you... Bowing down to me? I'm flattered. :3

**Enderblazehybrid: **Well, to answer your first question, everyone in Invacuo City was too busy paying attention to the ERB Tournament. Secondly, when Mark fell in the mushroom soup and splattered everyone, some got on the gametag above him that shows his username, plus no one was really paying attention to that anyway. Thirdly, I will have a chapter a few chapters from now that'll show what's going on back on Earth, don't you worry.

**Well, how that I've got THAT all done, let's get on with chapter five!**

**Hello, this is Pastrinator64 with another chapter from VOiD. Last time on VOiD we watched as Tobyturner and everyone around him praised Mark for his fame that, for some reason, he didn't understand fully yet. After receiving a good-luck Nugget In A Biscuit charm from Tobyturner he was sent to the ancient fortuneteller named Rexum, who told him all the steps to restoring the all-powerful Balance Core that he held. But then, after almost dying at night due to the strangely-mutated landscape, Mark and Rexum fled Invacuo City, for some unknown source was bombing them with black explosions. They picked up Mark's new friend Pikapika on the way, and the three of them ran far away from the city, setting up a small cottage off in the distance on the border of a desert. Now we watch as they meet another new face, this one able to get them out of the hole of helplessness they are stuck inside.**

**Now, let the story commence!**

* * *

_Chapter 5: The Undead Knight_

They stayed by the log cabin for the rest of the day. Mark and Pikapika punched down trees with their fists while Rexum meditated silently in the sand with his Eyestone in front of him. They spent three days that way...

* * *

Finally, after three days they found something interesting. Really, actually, something and someONE. The morning of that day, Mark and Pikapika woke up from lying in the grass, again surrounded by Rexum's force field, which he used every night. Mark awoke to the sound of Pikapika's breathing, and he stood up, and went out to the forest of replanted saplings in front of their hut. He walked out of the empty doorway and was about to start chopping down trees when he noticed something dart through the forest quickly.

He quickly ran back inside and shook Pikapika awake. He grumbled and looked up.

"Mark, we have enough wood already."

Mark shook him again and said,

"C'mon! I saw something move in the forest!"

"Coolio..."

Mark grumbled, and then flicked Pikapika's dark red tail to get his attention. Pikapika grabbed his tail and said,

"Don't touch the tail."

"Then come on!"

The two of them walked back to the forest and entered into the trees that sat past their saplings. Mark cupped his blocky hands to his mouth and shouted,

"Hey! Anybody there?"

His echo answered him, and only his echo. He shouted again and again, but no one answered. Pikapika sighed and said,

"Come on, let's just go back to bed."

Mark shook his head and went further into the trees. Suddenly, he turned a corner and was instantly smacked into something smelly and green. He fell backwards onto the ground and looked up, finding two dead black eyes staring down at him. His first thought was zombie, but then the creature rose up on two hind legs and let out a gurgled neigh like a horse.

In fact, it was a horse! It was the rare undead horse! It looked just like a regular horse only all of its skin was green and clammy. Also, Mark checked to see if it was tamed or not, and sure enough, it was tethered to the tree next to it and there was both a saddle and a chest attached to it. There was even a nametag pinned to its neck, which Mark thought might hurt since it was directly attached, but probably didn't hurt it considering it was undead. The name "Felix" floated above the undead horse's head.

"Hey, you there!"

Mark and Pikapika turned around and saw a person approaching them through the trees with a sword that looked like it had the pattern of rotten flesh. As the man got closer they could see his skin. It was a regular zombie, only with a knight helmet and chestplate.

"We were just admiring your... Uh... Horse."

The zombie knight dude froze for a moment, looking extremely epic in his knight-like appearance, and then just shrugged.

"Alright, then." he extended a hand towards Mark, then Pikapika. "My name is Zombiesorbust, what's yours?"

He had a British accent, too.

"I'm Mark Cobweb, and this is Pikapika." he pointed towards their log hut. "In there is our, um, guardian, or whatever, his name is Rexum."

They all shook hands, and then Zombiesorbust walked over and stroked Felix the undead horse's s chin, and said,

"Where did you two come from, eh?"

Mark told his story about how he had been teleported from Earth to Minecraft and all the ordeals he had to go through. Although, Pikapika seemed a little reluctant to share his past, but Zombiesorbust didn't really seem to care.

"Well, I am a former knight from the Knights Of The Blocky Table—a league of extremely skillful Minecraftian knights who defend all of the Minecraft Dimension from, well, it used to be Herobrine, but now that he's a ruler of this dimension and the Glitch is more of a threat, we defend all of the Minecraft Dimension from the Glitch. But while suddenly meeting a small army of the Glitch's evil viruses roughly twenty years ago we were disbanded, and now I am on my own with just Felix here to accompany me." he concluded.

"Gee, that seems like a lonely way to live." said Pikapika.

"Ah, I can't do anything about it anyway."

Mark had an idea and said,

"Why don't you just come with us? We have a whole quest to fulfill!"

That seemed to get his attention, and his head turned to look at Mark.

"A quest, you say? A noble one?"

"Yes, and it's one that will defeat the Glitch once again!" he declared in a dramatic tone.

Zombiesorbust thrust his zombie flesh sword with his head held proud and high and he declared,

"Then I shall join you on this noble quest! I shall dedicate my life to this journey and I shall protect all that is blocky and gravity defying!"

The three of them kind of stood there for a moment in awkwardness, and then Pikapika clapped his hands together and said,

"Uh, can you do us a favor?"

"Ah yes, what shall it be?" Zombiesorbust swung his zombie flesh around in a circle looking super dramatic. "Slay a monster? Save a princess? Climb to the top of a mountain? Retrieve an ancient treasure?"

"We need three Blockpacks."

Zombiesorbust's shoulders sagged, but he still walked over to the chest equipped to Felix. He pulled out three extra Blockpacks for them and handed them to Mark.

"Thanks, we've been without them for a while. All we had were hotbars for three days straight."

Mark gave a Blockpack to Pikapika and then headed back to their hut to deliver the third to Rexum. He walked in the door and saw Rexum still meditating in the same place he had been for three days, always remaining silent. Mark slowly approached and then raised a hand.

"Rexum? I have a Blockpack for you."

For the first time in three days, Rexum stood up from his Eyestone slowly and turned around to face Mark. His face looked even more aged than he had before.

"No need, Mark." he pulled at the sleeves of his tattered green robe, revealing countless pockets hidden in the cloth and a small crafting grid. "I have a much easier inventory and crafting grid."

Mark wished that Rexum had said something earlier, but he didn't complain or anything. So instead he went back to his two friends in the woods, who were talking to each other about something. While he was walking up to them he saw Pikapika laughing and looking at Zombiesorbust, and he said,

"Hey, what's so funny?"

Zombiesorbust just smiled and said,

"Nothing, chap."

Mark rolled his eyes at how British his way of speaking was, and then he said,

"Well, if you're going to come with us you'll have to help us. We're traveling to find the Temple Of Day And Night, and some guy named the Mastermind lives there, and apparently he knows how to get to the center of this planet where that Void Transport is. The Void Transport will teleport us up to Salutem's Void Palace where we will have to enter and search inside for the portal room. Once we find the Aether portal and enter it, we can get into the Aether, which at the moment is being renovated, but should be finished up once we get there. We just have to put this," he held up the Balance Core in its bottle. "Back on the alter in the center of Notch's Aether Palace."

Zombiesorbust raised his rotten flesh sword and said,

"Then it shall be done!"

Mark looked again at his strange sword and said,

"Hey, what kind of sword is that?"

The zombie knight looked at his sword for a moment before saying,

"It's a mod weapon: the zombie sword. It poisons any mob it touches, so it's a tad bit like a Wither blade, only smaller and lighter to use." he took out a crafting table from the chest equipped to Felix and set it on the ground, and then took out a stick and two pieces of rotten flesh. "Here's the crafting recipe I used; I can only use it once though, it's kind of an unstable recipe."

He put a piece of rotten flesh on the top middle and very middle compartments, and then a stick in the bottom middle compartment. Instead of his zombie sword appearing in the output box, the whole grid began to shake violently, and Zombiesorbust quickly took out the ingredients to stop the shaking.

"I don't know why it does that, I just avoid craft more of these." he said, putting away the supplies in Felix's equipped chest.

Mark clapped his hands together and then pointed towards their log hut.

"Well, since we've all got Blockpacks now I guess it's time to redo our house! Before we go out to find the Mastermind we'll have to get our resources back, since... I lost ALL of mine..."

They spent the entire day recreating their house. Rexum had gone back to meditating on the floor, so everyone just built around him as soundlessly as they could. They chopped down their old log house and converted their several stacks of wood to wood planks, which they used to build a small one-story mansion. It had a grand front gate that would open at their command—Zombiesorbust had some redstone materials to offer—and a small moat. Once they were finished putting all of their things back in their chests in the main room they stood outside and marveled at their creation.

"It's beautiful." said Pikapika, his hands on his hips, and he nodded.

"Agreed." said Zombiesorbust.

But then the night fell and they fled into their mansion. As they were watching through the window at the mutating plants and creatures outside Rexum spoke from behind.

"Do not worry, you three. I have been meditating here on this floor for a reason." they turned around to see him still sitting in front of the Eyestone. "I have been focusing my power on the Eyestone. Just a few more hours of meditation and there will be enough power in the core of the Eyestone to keep a protective field around us 24/7. I will no longer need to use my own power, but the Eyestone can only hold the field for three more days before it runs out of energy, so please, scavenge for any supplies you can in that time limit, and then we must be off."

As the three of them were walking towards Rexum to stay in his small field for those remaining hours, Pikapika leaned over and muttered,

"That old guy really seems stressed. He needs to loosen up a bit or something."

Zombiesorbust shrugged with his hands up and said,

"The old man can do what he wants, do not question his methods, he is our guardian for now. Maybe one day it will be us protecting him."

The three of them stayed huddled with Rexum and his Eyestone inside the force field for a few more hours into the night. Then finally, three hours later Rexum put his hand into the core of the Eyestone and the top hole shot out a beam of light that passed up through the glass ceiling. Mark watched in awe as a huge golden force field stretched its way around their small mansion like a bubble. Rexum stood up and walked to the window, looking out into the spooky night.

"I suggest that you all get some rest, you will be getting supplies all day tomorrow and then two days after as well."

Nobody objected to the old man's request, and Zombiesorbust quickly got out three beds. Rexum never slept in a bed—maybe he didn't sleep at all—so they only needed three. Before the zombie knight went to bed he walked outside and tethered Felix to the side of the mansion on the edge of the moat, all of which was underneath the force field.

As Mark crawled underneath his own covers he thought to himself,

"Man, I still wish I knew where Vanessa and Lucas and Bonbon ended up. I so hope I actually see them again."

* * *

The next morning the three boys woke up extra early so that they could get their supply-scavenging finished as early as possible. There was a piece of paper set at the foot of Mark's bed, and when he woke up he saw the paper and picked it up. This is what it said...

_Dear Mark, Pikapika and Zombiesorbust,_

_I have gone to the nearby desert temple for a much quieter meditating session. I will be there for these three days, and will return upon the night of the last day. By then you must have the following..._

_1. Two full stacks of cobblestone_

_2. One full stack of stone_

_3. One full stack of sand_

_4. Three full stacks of wood planks (any type)_

_5. Nine buckets of water_

_6. Two buckets of lava_

_7. 32 pieces of leather_

_8. 32 blocks of wool (any color)_

_9. A full stack of either steak, porkchop, cooked chicken, or cooked fish_

_10. A full stack of coal_

_11. A full stack of iron ingot_

_12. A full stack of redstone_

_You have these three days to get it done. Split the jobs evenly among you three. Good luck, I will see you on the ending night._

_~Rexum_

Mark groaned and slapped the list on the ground in front of him. Pikapika woke up and shuffled on his knees over to him, also looking a bit tired from the early wake-up call. When he got a good look of the list he said,

"Is that all the stuff the old guy wants us to find? And in three days? Geez, he's tight."

Mark sighed and picked the list up again.

"Well, we'd better get started; we have a lot to find. Plus, if we finish early we can do whatever we want."

Pikapika shrugged and then stood up, walking over his bed to Zombiesorbust's. He shook the zombie knight awake and said,

"C'mon, rise and shine, Mr. Green Face!"

Zombiesorbust sat up in bed and rubbed his head.

"What's going on, eh?"

Mark showed him the list. He sighed and then stood up on his bed, then stepped off onto the wood plank floor.

"Well, we'd better get started. No use procrastinating, correct?"

So they got to work. They didn't need anyone to chop down some trees for the wood planks, so he assigned Pikapika to get the leather, wool, food, sand and water. Then he told Zombiesorbust to come with him underground for mining. Mark made some wooden pickaxes to start out with and grabbed some torches and a crafting table. Once they were mining they crafted better pickaxes. As they were heading down into the mine Zombiesorbust said,

"Ah, this shall be a quick mine, it will not be too hard to find the needed supplies, will it?"

"Honestly, here in the mine time seems to zoom by, so I sure hope that's true." answered Mark.

Mark and Zombiesorbust mined a huge flight of stairs down into the ground, and after a while they found an abandoned mineshaft. Then the song "Mineshaft" started to play from an unknown source. Mark looked around in the mineshaft and saw plenty of ores lining the walls.

"Hey, we hit the jackpot!"

"Let us mine these ores with lust, Mark Cobweb, with lust..."

"Uh, sure."

Mark ran over and quickly mined a vein of coal. He jumped up out of the area and moved along the wall towards an iron vein, which he also mined. Then he looked down and a red glow met his eyes. Redstone! He grinned and laughed a little while mining the crimson gemstone.

"Man, I've never seen so many ores in one place!"

They continued to mine the ores lining the walls and floor, and then Mark found the ultimate treasure. Diamond. Mark turned the corner of a mineshaft and instantly met a small ledge. He looked down and saw a lava pool below, and sitting directly in the center of the lava he saw a block of, you guessed it, diamond ore. His eyes lit up and he called for his friend.

"Hey, Zob! Come over here! I found diamond!"

Zombiesorbust came up to him a few seconds later and said,

"What is Zob?"

"It stands for Zombiesorbust. Anyway, look at that! Diamond! Plus lava, we'll be able to get our two lava buckets as well!"

Zombiesorbust went to work and built them a set down their crafting table and built a furnace. In a matter of minutes he had six of their iron ores smelted into iron ingots, which he used to craft two empty buckets. Mark made a path down to the lava path and crouched down over the edge. His block-placing reach didn't make it to the diamond ore block, so Mark just placed his cobblestone on the edge of his platform. Slowly he made his way over to the diamond ore.

Once he had reached it, he held his hand back and took an iron pick and two buckets from Zombiesorbust. First he placed cobblestone all the way around the diamond ore. If his Minecraft logic was correct the diamond ore would pop up into the air for just enough time for him to grab it. Mark took a deep breath and broke the diamond ore block, and the diamond item flew up into the air. He grabbed it just in time, and then saw a glint below. More diamond was underneath the surface of the lava. Then, there in his mind formed two words...

"Challenge accepted..."

Mark took the bucket and filled it with the lava. More lava just flowed in, but not enough to be a source block.

"Mark, just leave the diamond. If we find two more diamonds we'll make a diamond pick and bring down water buckets to turn all of this molten rock into obsidian. We are wasting precious time. We have finished our cobblestone and coal quotas, but we still have to find enough iron and redstone. Soon we'll have our stone, but that can wait for when he get back to the surface, young chap."

Mark whirled around and said,

"Ok, you can stop saying "chap"."

"'Tis the way I speak, Mark."

Mark sighed and went back up the staircase and away from the lava pool. They continued to mine for the day, and by the time it had ended they only had half of their iron quota and a quarter of their redstone quota. Thankfully, they now had their two buckets of lava, which they had expected to take a while.

Mark and Zombiesorbust met Pikapika up at the top of their tunnel. He was holding a bunch of stuff in his hotbar.

"Hey guys! I got all my stuff! You want me to help mine?"

Mark waved his hand.

"Nah, you can just relax for the next two days. We can split up to find the rest of our ores."

Pikapika pumped his fist and ran off and out the door. Mark slowly turned to look at Zombiesorbust.

"Don't you think Pikapika sounds a bit girly?"

Zombiesorbust shrugged and said,

"Yes, that is true. Some boys will have feminine personalities, it is not impossible."

* * *

The next day Mark and Zombiesorbust headed back down into the mine to finish their quotas. Mark went left and he went right. As Mark was walking down the mineshaft tunnels he looked all around for redstone ore. Thankfully, he was able to find plenty of it as he went lower towards the bedrock layer. It was interesting, because the mineshaft even touched down to the bedrock, a rare occurrence. Finally, after about three hours he had obtained a full stack. (Remember that time in Minecraft goes by much quicker.)

Mark headed back up to the surface where he found Zombiesorbust waiting for his iron ingots to smelt in the furnace. Mark clapped his hands together and said,

"Well, that was easy! We didn't even use up three days! We have half of today yet and all of tomorrow to rest! So, should we, I don't know, do something?"

As Zombiesorbust was pulling out his brand new iron ingots he said,

"Well, Pikapika said something about going to the beach and... I think he said "hang", though I'm not sure what that means.

Mark slapped his hand on his forehead and dragged it along his face.

"Dude, you really need to get out more. He meant that we should go over there and rest or have fun or do something."

Zombiesorbust raised his eyebrows.

"That is much nicer than how I interpreted it. I thought that he was asking me to lynch myself." he murmured.

Mark rolled his eyes and muttered something under his breath.

"There's a beach nearby, he probably went there. Let's go, might as well!"

Mark had been waiting for an opportunity to have fun ever since he arrived. Now was his chance to actually show Zombiesorbust what fun actually was, if at all possible.

The two of them headed out of their hut and walked about forty blocks to the nearby beach. They saw Pikapika sitting in the sand with his pitch black feet dipped in the water. He turned and saw them as they were approaching and said,

"Hey, it's about time! Let's do something!"

Mark was excellent with coming up things to do. It was a specialty.

"Alright, let's do some swimming! Everyone loves swimming!"

Zombiesorbust raised his hand and pointed a finger like he was about to say "Eureka!".

"Actually, only 46% of the human population can swim."

"Zob, it's an estimate."

"No, that was not an estimate. It was a biased statement."

"Both of you shut up already!"

Mark was about to launch himself into the water when Pikapika stood up and got up onto the sand.

"Hold on a moment, I need to change into something more comfortable."

As he was walking off towards the trees nearby Mark looked sideways at Zombiesorbust.

"Uhhh... He's a black Pikachu. What does he mean by changing into something more comfortable?"

Mark looked back at the trees and saw Pikapika standing behind a tree looking at him. He waved his hand and said,

"Hey, keep your eyes away!"

Mark raised his hands and turned around. Barely five seconds later he heard Pikapika speak again.

"Ok, I'm good."

Mark turned back around.

"Dude, how are you supposed... Uh..."

He was no longer staring at a guy with an evil black Pikachu skin. Instead, he saw standing before him a girl about his age. She had long golden hair, a perfectly white smile and a pair of playful green eyes. She was wearing spaghetti straps, blue short-shorts and sandals. Her hands were elegant and nimble, and her nails were painted lime green like her eyes. She was absolutely... HOT... Mark started sweating on the spot.

"You're a... A... A... A... A..."

Pikapika flipped her hair and smiled.

"Yes, I'm a girl. Sorry, that's just my skin. And you can call me Kelsey.

Mark wiped his brow with his shirt and said,

"Um, how did you change your skin?"

She started walking towards them and then stopped, then pulled off her Blockpack and showed Mark the inside.

"See that little button there?" she pointed to a very small and almost-invisible button right next to the small crafting grid inside. "That little doohickey changes your skin. This is what I looked like on Earth."

Mark looked at her and raised his eyebrows.

"You got transported from Earth too?"

"Well, kind of." she zipped the Blockpack up again. "I had no idea, but you know how... Well, if you're a Christian like me, you know how when you die your soul goes to Heaven or Hell? Well, your Minecraft soul—the person that you played as during your life—stays in the Minecraft Dimension. So, I still stay alive in the game with my own duplicate soul. I'm kind of in two places at once." Kelsey explained.

Mark almost didn't hear her; he was too busy staring at her every time she flipped her hair in that adorable way. Despite the fact he had thought that she was a guy he still couldn't get over how... How...

"Oh Jesus, I can't get over how cute she is! Dang it, if only I wasn't so darn sweaty right now, I might actually give off a good appearance!"

Kelsey looked over at Zombiesorbust and said,

"What's your human self look like?"

Zombiesorbust sighed and said,

"If you insist, I shall show you. I need not privacy, just the gadget of my Blockpack."

He zipped open his Blockpack and located the small button inside, and he pressed it with his ring finger. Suddenly, Zombiesorbust's image flickered and turned transparent, showing the code flowing inside of him. After a second his zombie looks dissipated away to a new form.

Zombiesorbust stood up, letting the two of them get a good look at him. He was now a tall and muscular boy about the age of eighteen or so. His skin was tan, his arms rippled with muscles. He had a chiseled complexion, very handsome, black hair with a tinge of swampy green and murky blue eyes. He was wearing a gray T-shirt with the words "THIS IS SPARTA!" printed bright white on the front. He also was wearing black jean shorts and gray hiking boots.

Zombiesorbust crossed his ripped arms and said,

"Yes, I know, I do not look like the gentleman my personality portrays. If my username is too long then you may address me as Gabe."

Mark gawked at both Kelsey and Gabe.

"Wow! You guys look amazing, but I still look like a total dweeb!" he muttered in sheer amazement.

Kelsey raised her small fist and said,

"Well, it doesn't matter now, does it?"

Kelsey took off her spaghetti straps and shorts, leaving her in a sexy bikini. She kicked off her sandals and jumped into the water. Mark just continued to stare at her beauty. After a few seconds she turned around while neck-deep in the water and waved for them to come in.

"Well come on! Are we going to swim or not?"

Mark looked over to see that even Zombiesor... I mean, Gabe was pulling off his T-shirt. He had a massively epic twelve-pack lined down his stomach, if that's even physically possible. He dove into the water surprisingly gracefully, drenching Mark, who was still standing on the beach sand. He sighed and pulled off his own shirt, and then looked down at his scrawny torso.

_"Crap, I really do look like a dweeb. Zombiesor... Dang it. I mean Gabe could crush my body up and season a porkchop with me if he wanted..."_ he thought.

Mark dove into the water himself and instantly met a splash from Kelsey. She laughed and swam away just as Mark was taking another breath. Thankfully, the water wasn't too cold. He looked at Kelsey swimming away and remembered that he was supposed to be having fun. He grinned and said,

"You're going to pay for that!"

He swam after Kelsey, who unfortunately was a bit faster than him. Despite his scrawny limbs and chest, Mark had a high amount of stamina, so after a while he caught up with her and grabbed her leg. She squealed and screamed,

"Hey! Let go!"

Mark wrestled her into the water, but finally she broke free and splashed him again. Mark laughed and splashed her back, and soon they were in an all-out splash war. He dove under the surface and grabbed her leg again. He used to have a previous girlfriend back at school—of course, he still couldn't remember much—so he always had something that could make a girl squeal for mercy.

Mark put his arm around her leg and grabbed her ankle with both hands. Kelsey was stuck floating there in the water on her back, and her free leg couldn't kick Mark away.

"No fair!" she cried.

Mark grinned and got a good look at her feet. Clean, delicate, barely tread on. He put a finger on her sole and started scratching, running his finger up and down the length of her foot, and she squealed.

_"Work's like a charm."_ he thought to himself, his mouth curled into a mischievous smile.

Kelsey giggled and tried to pull free, but failed at doing so.

"Gee, Kelsey, I have not seen such soft and ticklish soles in my life!" he commented, still barely stroking the plushy and pale skin of her sole.

Kelsey begged and squealed and laughed.

"C'mon! You're a... Heheheheheh! Cheater! Quit it! Heeheeheeheheheheheh! Uncle!"

"Doesn't look like you've walked more than a day on these, they're immaculate." he said playfully.

After another minute he let her go and she chased him around in the water for a long while, trying to get back at him. After another few hours they saw the sun beginning to go down, and Mark heard Gabe shout from the beach.

"I suggest that we head back inside!" he declared, pointing back to their small mansion in the near distance.

Mark noticed him sitting there on the sand with all his clothes dry and put back on. As he and Kelsey were swimming over he said,

"Wait, have you been sitting here the whole time? Were you even in the water at all?"

He didn't answer, but instead stood up and started walking for home. Mark and Kelsey dried off and then put their normal clothes back on. As they were walking towards home they stayed in a somewhat awkward silence. Finally, Kelsey said something to Mark.

"You really know how to have fun, don't you?" she commented.

Mark's cheeks turned crimson and he looked down at the ground. He was nervous beyond compare. He held up one finger and said,

"Um, can you give me a moment?"

"Sure."

Mark walked quickly behind a tree and looked to make sure that Kelsey was turned away. Then he smashed his fist up against the tree, just pounding it to the death.

"What's wrong with me?! How could I have been so playful?! I knew that Pikapika was a girl for barely an hour! WAY too early! WAY, WAY, WAY TOO FREAKING EARLY! I look like such a loser! I look desperate! I'm approaching... Kelsey, Pikapika, whatever, WAY too aggressively! I'm such an idiot! AAAAGGGGHHHH!"

He continued to smash the tree, kick it, ram into it, and do whatever to express his anger while he continued shouting at himself. Finally, he paused and looked back at his home. He could just see Kelsey watching him near the moat. His cheeks reddened even worse and he turned around. Sighing, he leaned up against the tree and wiped the sweat off his forehead. Now he had to deal with the stress of being in competition with a guy who has muscles like a boss for the girl who he originally thought was a boy. All he had was... Nothing. Nothing except his weak ambition.

* * *

**Tut, tut, Mark. You gotta take a way slower approach than that...**

**Now, how about some more QAA?**

**To Salutem and the Glitch: Why didn't you both take the same path of good?**

Salutem: Well, I am not surprised that my evil counterpart stayed where it was banished to, it had no intentions of being good whatsoever.

The Glitch: _Take the good path?! You must be joking! I am sickened by good, the only thing "good" enough to satisfy my appetite is EVIL! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!_

**To Rexum: ****How did you know that Mark was being attacked?**

Rexum: You remember the Spirits In Between, correct? I receive many important visions from them, and I received one about Mark, and when I opened my eyes and looked outside I saw him being dragged into the mutated pavement and attacked by the eyeballs swimming inside. I am psychic; a gift I am grateful for.

**To the Glitch: You are the best how can I be in ur army?** **Why did you kill Skull and Crossbows though?**

The Glitch: _I care not about flattery! You shall never be in my army, especially not a... A Guest! I must know who I am working with! Then again, I can find you just as easily... Also, that dried-up pile of calcium was about to kill Norman Cobweb those twenty years ago, and if I didn't do anything it would have, and I was the one to kill him, not Skull and Crossbows. Another reason could be because I am EVIL and SADISTIC beyond COMPARE! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!_

**To Vanessa Why the f*ck don't you get your butt out of that stupid BOOK and at least TALK TO SOMEONE FOR FIVE MINUTES!**

Vanessa: No! I cherish this book more than my family AND my... *tries to think of friends that she doesn't have*

**Alright, but for next time, how will Mark be able to show Kelsey (and Gabe) that he's not a total loser? Will they all survive for the rest of the quest? They should be better off now that they have supplies, but what about the strangely mutated landscape that unfolds at nighttime? Find out NEXT chapter in VOiD!**

**But for now, this is Pastrinator64, and I'll see you later with chapter numbah six!**

***throws sugar bomb, disappears in a cloud of fine white sugar***

**Byyyyyeeeeee...**

**~Pastrinator64 [~]**


	6. Chapter 6: The Lonely Girl

******Sorry for the late chapter post, my computer has been being a real butt lately, because half the time I save something it says it can't reach the Internet! How stupid is that?! Then I have to start all over again!**

**Hello, this is Pastrinator64 with another chapter from VOiD. I'd just like to ask, were you surprised yesterday that "Pikapika" and "Zombiesorbust had real names, and were actually from Earth? I kinda liked the idea, so I decided it would be an interesting twist... Anyway, now for some replies to reviews!**

Replies To Reviews

**Somebody10101:** Kelsey (Pikapika) and Gabe (Zombiesorbust) are alive inside Minecraft, but their Earth lives are gone, it's their Minecraftian souls that remained. The Pikapika becoming a girl thing wasn't last minute; I'd been thinking about it before.

**EnderBlazeHybrid:** I'm glad you thought it was funny, I was kinda going for fluff at the end there. With the OCs I'll be having them very, VERY soon.

**Guest:** Thank you, I went back and changed it. :)

**Enderdude:** I got it, you're just... Bored... Not because of my story, right. Ok, thank you for clearing that up.

**CSICreeper:** Bow down, CSICreeper, and go fetch me a pastry! XD

**CSICreeper:** That's ok, I'm one too! ;) I'm just talking about the idiots who do absolutely nothing but talk, talk, be stupid, talk, and get in trouble. I am not one of those, and I don't think any of my fans are like that, and that includes you.

**funkypigeon . com:** Are you promoting Pigeot?

**Kyle McShade:** Well, Kyle, I wish I did have a Hunger Games server, but I can't seem to find any myself. Sorry, fresh out! :/ Your character question is at the bottom, by the way, just in case you didn't read the stuff about Questions And Answers in the beginning.

**Well, that's a lot of reviews! I got more reviews on this chapter than I did on the others! Now then, on with the story!**

**Hello, this is Pastrinator64 with another chapter from VOiD. Last time on VOiD we met a new face belonging to a zombified knight and his undead horse. Mark, Pikapika and their new friend Zombiesorbust transformed their little wooden hut into a small but luxurious mansion. For the next few days while Rexum was away in a desert temple to meditate they gathered all the needed supplies, leaving half of the second day to just have fun. There on the beach Mark found out that Pikapika and Zombiesorbust were actually humans from Earth, and that their real names were Kelsey and Gabe, and that apparently, their Minecraftian souls remained in the Minecraft Dimension. Mark found himself falling in love with Kelsey and her beautiful figure and bouncy personality, but he knew he was WAY out of her league, so his thoughts were spent thinking of how stupid he was. Now we watch as Mark finds yet another face, this one about to be MAULED by the mutated mobs of Minecraft!**

**Now, let the story commence!**

* * *

_Chapter 6: The Lonely Girl_

Mark went to bed feeling worthless that night, and as he crawled into bed he could see Kelsey smiling at him. He turned away and thought to himself,

"She doesn't seem bothered at all that I was so playful on the first attempt, why is that? Maybe she's been waiting for someone to like her for a while now... No, then she'd go after Mr. Sparta."

He looked over at Gabe, who was already asleep. He was starting to remember him as Gabe instead of Zombiesorbust and that it was Kelsey not Pikapika. He hoped that he wouldn't accidently call Kelsey by her username, which would be highly embarrassing.

* * *

That night Mark had a short but painful dream.

He was standing in a strange dark castle of some sort. Everything was moving, the floors, the ceiling, the walls, and it was hard to navigate his way through. He could see something glowing at the other end, and he was determined to reach it, but every time he looked down he could only see the gaping holes that would send him plummeting to his death.

He continued to jump from shifting black platform to the next, but he had to move quickly, because he started to sink through. Finally, though, he made it to the other side and started to run towards the white glow in the distance. But then, the floor in front of him rose up and formed a gigantic shifting blob of that black matter. Before Mark could react, it opened its great red eyes and mouth and screeched. Then, it extended two massive black wings and launched forward, consuming him in an agonizing blast of cold and dark.

* * *

Mark's eyes flashed open. He had broken into a terribly cold sweat. Mark looked to his left to see that Kelsey was still asleep, and then to his right to see Gabe was also asleep. He sighed and wiped the sweat off his forehead with his covers, and then stood up out of bed.

He walked over to their chest and looked inside for something to eat. But while he was looking for a porkchop, he heard a noise come from outside. He stopped for a moment and then looked out their window. He could see a group of mutated mobs swarming around something. Then he heard a little girl's bloodcurdling scream.

Mark quickly rushed back to the chest and grabbed his sword. He ran to their double doors and busted them open. He didn't care about the mutated environment, he ran right towards the group of mutated mobs. He heard another scream come from the little girl that they were swarming.

As he was running a mutated enderman that was in the group saw him and lashed out with sickly green tentacles that were its arms. Mark sliced them in half with adrenaline and then stabbed the mutant in the chest, spurting out black blood. He continued on and attracted all of the remaining mobs; a mutated skeleton, mutated Creeper and mutated zombie.

The skeleton with the two glowing eye sockets shot a cackling skull on a bone chain from its bow, which bit into Mark's arm and seeped acid. He returned the favor by grabbing the bone chain and pulling the mutated skeleton towards him, then cracking its skull in half with his diamond blade.

The mutant black Creeper came up next, and it let out a scratchy hiss, then from out of its dead eye sockets smoke began to billow. The cloud of smoke was launched towards Mark, who sidestepped quickly and continued forward. The mutated black Creeper lunged forward and hissed, swelling up to explode. Mark held his sword in a blocking position, which shielded him a little from the massive blast. He was splattered all over with that gooey black blood.

Finally came the blue mutant zombie, which ripped off its arm and chucked it. The arm grabbed onto Mark's leg and pulled him to the ground. Mark stabbed it through the palm, and then pulled it off, quickly backing up to avoid the toss of the zombie's other arm. He looked back at the mutant zombie and saw it regrow its clammy blue limbs. Then it opened its dead eye sockets and revealed two bloodshot eyeballs, which were launched at Mark. The eyeballs stuck to Mark's chest and opened their pupil mouths to rip his chest to shreds, but Mark shook so hard that they flew off, and he quickly crushed them underfoot. While the mutant zombie was blind for that split second he lunged forward and stabbed the zombie in the forehead, his sword piercing through its sludgy brain and sending it out the other side. The zombie too exploded with black blood, practically drowning Mark in it.

Mark panted for a moment, and then heard the little girl scream again. He saw her being dragged to the ground by the tall grass, which he quickly sliced at with his sword. He clasped his hand onto the little girl's and they ran back to their mansion, over the moat and through the doors. He slammed the doors shut, which woke up both Kelsey and Gabe. Kelsey was the first to get up, and when she got out of bed and saw Mark on his hands and knees panting on the ground with the little girl she ran to the food chest and then to them with several porkchops.

Mark was so weak that he was lying flat on the ground. The black blood covering him from head to toe seemed to be draining his energy somehow, and he felt extremely weak, and it all just burned his skin. His breathing had turned extremely shallow, and he felt like he was about to pass out. As Kelsey was shoving the porkchops down his throat she screamed,

"What happened?!"

The porkchops helped him a little, but he still felt drained and burned up. Kelsey ran over and found some wool blocks, which she used to soak up all of the murky blood. She took the drenched black wool blocks and threw them in the moat to be disposed of. After the blood was soaked from Mark's skin he felt as though he was beginning to heal, and after about ten minutes he could sit up. Now he could even see better, the blood had rendered his vision nearly useless.

He saw Kelsey tending to the little girl near her bed. She was feeding her a porkchop. The little girl looked no older than maybe six years old, but for sure she looked absolutely terrified.

"What's your name?" asked Kelsey.

The girl just started crying, and she put her face in Kelsey's shoulder. Kelsey held the girl close and comforted her, rubbing her back to attempt to calm her down. The little girl continued to cry.

"M-m-m-mommy! I w-w-want m-m-mommy!" she sputtered, her tears soaking Kelsey's shirt.

Kelsey lightly shushed the girl and continued to hold her until she stopped crying. She looked over at Mark and said,

"She's been through a traumatic experience, she might not be able to talk to us yet."

Gabe approached at that moment and when he saw the girl he said,

"Where did the girl come from?"

"We don't know. She's too upset and she's lost her mom." said Mark, still looking at the little girl.

They stayed in their positions for another twenty minutes, but then finally the girl had quieted herself to whimpering. Kelsey continued to comfort her, and then spoke again.

"What's your name, honey?"

The little girl sniffled and looked up at Kelsey with chocolate brown eyes reddened from her weeping.

"I d-don't know..."

"Do you know where your mommy is?"

"She's g-g-gone! Mommy g-got eaten by the m-m-monsters! I'm-m-m all alone!"

"Do you know where you came from?"

The little girl started to cry again and put her face back in Kelsey's arm.

"Don't you remember anything?"

She looked back up at Kelsey and sputtered,

"N-no!"

Mark looked at Kelsey and caught her gaze.

"Why doesn't she remember anything?" he murmured.

Kelsey sighed and said,

"I don't know why..."

Gabe spoke from behind.

"I know why. The Glitch is running rampant through the Minecraft Dimension. The young and feeble minds of this world are being swiped, her memories are gone due to how weak this dimension is becoming. We must stay strong, otherwise we will suffer the same fate."

The two of them turned around to look at Gabe, who had his beefy arms crossed and his face dead serious. Mark looked back at Kelsey, who continued to talk with the amnesia-struck little girl.

"Alright, here's what we'll do. You can stay with us, we'll keep you safe, ok? Does that sound good?" she asked calmly.

The little girl sniffled and looked up with tears streaming down her cheeks. She whimpered, but nodded lightly. Kelsey helped her into her bed and said,

"You can sleep with me."

The girl nodded and pulled the covers over herself. Kelsey slid in bed next to the girl and then looked at Mark and Gabe.

"You two get back to bed as well. We have all day tomorrow to do whatever we want."

So they all went back to bed. Mark sighed with exhaustion and flopped onto his bed, crawling underneath the warm covers to finally get some sleep.

* * *

Everyone woke up a few hours later than usual the next morning, and it was nearly noon by the time they were all up an about. Mark stood up out of bed and walked over to the food chest to have some lunch since it was lunchtime already. Once he was finished with his loaves of bread he walked outside and breathed in the fresh morning air, smiling to himself, looking out at the beautiful forest.

Mark stood outside until his friends were all outside with him. He looked at Kelsey and Gabe and the little girl.

"So, what should we do?"

Mark looked out at the forest, waiting for a suggestion. Then he turned to look at the desert. Then he saw the desert temple in the distance and had an idea. He raised a finger and said,

"I know what we're going to do today!"

He ran off into the sand of the desert, heading towards the desert temple in the distance. Kelsey called from behind,

"What are you doing?!"

"I'm going to loot that desert temple!"

Mark didn't hear either of his friends following from behind, and when he turned his head he didn't see anyone behind him.

"Oh well, your loss!" he shouted.

"I don't believe so, young chap!"

Mark turned his head in the other direction and saw Gabe zoom past him on the green blur that was Felix the undead horse.

"Hey! You're a cheater!" Mark shouted, trying to catch up but failing.

Gabe laughed heartily and raised his zombie sword in one hand and a diamond pick in the other.

"Onward, Felix!"

The clammy green horse sped up and let out an unearthly neigh. Gabe tied Felix to the sandstone wall of the desert temple and waited for Mark to catch up. Once they were together again they both gripped their diamond picks and tunneled into the temple. They stepped into the room, and Mark froze in place, quickly holding out his arm to stop Gabe from moving. Sitting in the very center of the room was Rexum, and he was meditating.

"So THIS is the temple he was using!" thought Mark.

Mark put a finger to his lips and slowly broke open the block below him. As silently as possible the two of them tunneled down into the floor until they were low enough. Then Mark tunneled forward and quickly broke through to the secret treasure room. He looked down at the pressure plate sitting in the center and destroyed it with his pick.

Now that it was safe they walked inside and looted the chests. Together they got seven diamonds, four gold ingots, four emeralds and six pieces of rotten flesh. It was a pretty good find, and they now had a whole eight diamonds including the one at home.

This time Mark got a ride with Gabe on Felix's back as they headed back towards home. They hoped sincerely that they didn't disturb Rexum while he was meditating. Once they were home they entered and saw Kelsey talking with the little girl. There was something in the girl's hands too. As they walked closer it became clear, and sitting in her hands was a silverfish. The silverfish seemed completely fine with being there and even passive.

Kelsey even reached down and picked up the silverfish, which let out a clicking noise and rubbed itself against her arm. The little girl quickly snatched back the silverfish and said,

"Don't squeeze Mickey! He doesn't like being squeezed!"

"Alright, I won't touch him! How do you know he doesn't like it?"

"Mickey talks to me up here. He knows lots of words." the little girl answered plainly, tapping her head.

Kelsey smiled and said,

"Well, I think Mickey is very cute."

Mark cleared his throat and both girls looked at him and Gabe. He held up his left arm to show them his hotbar with all the looted goods inside. Kelsey grinned and said,

"Found quite a few diamonds, I see!"

"Yes, this happened to be a very successful looting. We almost disturbed your old friend, er, Rexum, as I remember?" said Gabe.

Kelsey nodded and said,

"I was just getting to know Amelia."

"So, she remembers her name?"

"No," Kelsey turned to look back at the girl. "That's what I've decided to call her."

"I like it, it's pretty!" said Amelia.

The little girl hugged Kelsey again and said,

"Miss, you're really nice, you know!"

"Why thank you!"

Mark and Gabe left the house again and then looked out into the desert while standing on the border of the forest and the sand. Mark squinted at the sun and noticed that it had gone past its highest peak and was just barely beginning to descend back down towards the horizon. They still had several hours, maybe four or so to do whatever they wanted—which was still relatively short in Minecraft time.

Mark and Gabe sat down by a tree and just talked.

"What was your life back in the 3rd Dimension?" asked Gabe, folding his arms.

Mark sighed and then looked out into the desert sadly.

"Well, I used to have a lot of friends, believe it or not." he didn't see Gabe even smile the slightest. "A lot of people liked me; I was the jokester of the group. Even so, I only ever had one girlfriend, and she was a lot like Kelsey, or at least from what I can remember, I don't even remember her name. Being sucked into Minecraft really took its toll. I only have you and Kelsey as friends now. No offense." he added.

"None taken, my friend."

"So, um, what about you? Did you have any other knight friends?"

"Friendships can be a misleading conduct, I choose not to side with anyone, as it could cost my life or others in the future due to the possible betrayal."

Mark furrowed his eyebrows together in disbelief.

"Really? You think that friendship is an absolute waste? You must be kidding!"

Gabe looked out into the desert and did not answer right away, but then spoke about ten seconds later.

"There are only some relationships that do not lead to danger. Those are very rare occurrences, and I have only had such a relationship with my fellow knights. We were humble, honorable, noble, and never ones to betray another. But only then have I truly trusted another soul."

Mark stayed silent for a bit, but then said,

"So, did you ever have, like, a girlfriend? You know, back on Earth before you died and came here? I mean, I would think you'd be swarmed by girls with those muscles and looks of yours."

That made Gabe crack a small smile.

"So, Mr. Sparta really can smile."

"Yes, I actually had several girlfriends. One was named Maria, then Mary, then Maxime, then Marylyn, then Margaret. But none of them were ever good enough for me, I wanted someone who cared about who I really was, all five of them cared most about my body rather than personality." he answered, his smile melting away.

Mark looked back at their home and could see Kelsey throwing up the little girl into the air and then catching her, smiling with her perfect white teeth. He pointed towards the window and said,

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm going for her."

Gabe looked throw the window in the distance as well and said,

"Kelsey?"

Mark rolled his eyes and muttered,

"No, the little girl." then he sighed and rested his chin in his hands, staring longingly at Kelsey's beautiful face. "It's just... She's so, cute! Everything about her is cute! Her hips are cute, her arms are cute, her legs are even cuter and she has cute little hands and feet! Even the way she flips her blond hair back is cute! She's cuter than a fresh litter of puppies, I say! She's... Oh man, I can't get over her!"

Gabe looked at him and scratched his chin like he was thinking.

"You look very nervous."

Mark sighed and shook his hands in frustration.

"I know! Whenever I'm around her I get all red and sweaty, plus the fact that I look like a total noob doesn't help."

Gabe smiled and said,

"You must win her heart if you truly love her. Be her man, if she is ever in need of anything you give it to her. Be noble as I and you will obtain the true love you desire."

Mark sighed and looked down at his sneakers.

"Yeah, but like I said, my appearance doesn't help the matter. I'll be all alone as long as I have this body."

"Your appearance changes the matter in no way, my friend. It doesn't matter how you appear physically, you must help her focus on the person inside. You will be able to achieve your goal, Mark Cobweb, I have faith in you." said Gabe, who patted him on the back.

Mark continued to look through the window at Kelsey. They spent a whole two short hours just admiring the trees, Kelsey, the beautiful sand dunes, the sky, Kelsey, their amazing mansion, and more of Kelsey. After that time had passed they looked into the sky to see the sun dipping closer to the horizon, casting an orange-red glow across the landscape.

Mark and Gabe entered their small mansion and just sort of hang around being bored for the last few hours. As the sun was halfway down the horizon Rexum walked in the door with his Eyestone. He looked rested from his three-day meditation. His green robes were miraculously mended, shiny and clean again. Altogether he just looked rejuvenated. Rexum walked silently to their chests and put everything they owned in that inventory built into his robe sleeve. Then he approached Mark, Gabe, Kelsey and little Amelia looking calm. He said nothing about Kelsey and Gabe's change in appearance nor Amelia. But Amelia did point at Rexum and say,

"Who's that?"

Kelsey leaned over and whispered in her ear,

"He's Rexum the Magic Wizard!"

Amelia's young face lit up and she smiled and then looked up at Kelsey.

"Really?" she said excitedly.

Rexum paid no attention whatsoever to Amelia and just started talking to everyone else.

"Everyone, we must leave immediately. I have received visions from the Spirits In Between, it is not safe here, we need to leave early. Originally we would leave late tonight and formulate a plan ahead of time, but we must leave now and think as we move." he said calmly.

"But what about the house?" asked Mark, gesturing around at the mansion.

Rexum turned around and walked towards the doors.

"I will attend to the details."

Mark exchanged glances with Gabe and Kelsey, who both shrugged. They followed Rexum outside, and Kelsey hoisted Amelia up onto her back so that she wouldn't have to walk. Once outside Gabe went and got Felix and brought him away from their home as they walked. Rexum stopped around the edge of the moat and stood to face their mansion. Everyone watched as Rexum put away the Eyestone inside his inventory. The old man stood upright and extended two ancient hands towards their mansion. Suddenly, some kind of glittery gold block of energy appeared in front of his hands, and he thrust his hands forward, sending it flying at their mansion. As soon as it touch the wood of the gate everything exploded in a blinding cloud of white particles.

Mark opened his eyes again and saw hundreds upon hundreds of blocks in their item form hovering over the ground in a pile where their mansion used to be. Even the inside of the moat was reduced to many full water buckets. Rexum walked forward calmly and all of the blocks and materials used to build the small mansion were absorbed into his inventory as he walked around the empty space. Then, once Rexum had taken up all of the water buckets in their moat he jumped up out of it and walked in the other direction past Mark and friends, who were all either gawking or just plain staring. Amelia jumped up in excitement and squealed,

"He IS a wizard!"

The five of them walked through the desert underneath Rexum's small force field. They walked on for a few more hours into the mutating nighttime until around midnight when Mark finally broke the silence.

"Um, Rexum? You do know where you're going, right?"

Rexum did not turn around, but did answer with,

"Wouldn't you think it appropriate that I know where we travel? In other words, yes Mark, I know where we are going. The Spirits In Between visited me through my visions, and they have instructed me to travel northwest for exactly one thousand blocks, and there in the jungle that comes sits the Temple Of Day And Night. Once inside we will question the mysterious Mastermind who lives there for directions to the center of Buenomalo. I need not explain much further, and I trust the judgment of the Spirits In Between; our lives are now in Fate's delicate hands."

Mark suppressed the urge to roll his eyes and continued to walk in silence. They walked for a long time into the night, and thankfully they were able to stay protected the whole time. They didn't even stop to rest, they just continued their travel. Amelia had already fallen asleep on Kelsey's back and was breathing quietly; the only noise that pierced the cold silence of the night.

After roughly three hundred or so blocks they reached the jungle. The sun was beginning to rise up from the horizon already, casting a warm glow over the landscape. As soon as sunlight would touch a mutated entity or block it would shimmer with the light and return to normal once again.

It was a very time-consuming walk through the jungle. They had to jump over several dirt and leaf blocks, there were dangling vines always slowing them down, and there were several ledges with the rough landscape that were hard to navigate. Finally, Rexum seemed to grow tired of the way they were moving and blasted the landscape again with that glittery gold block he used before, destroying everything directly in front of them for several hundred blocks. They obtained hundreds upon hundreds of blocks as they went down the new path, and sooner or later Mark figured that Rexum's inventory would fill up.

Once they met the rough landscape again Rexum would repeat his magical whatchamajiggers to clear for them a path. Even moving this quickly it took the rest of the daylight; they had to pause to rest every ten minutes. By the time the sun was dipping below the horizon they still had roughly a hundred blocks to go. Rexum began to climb up the vines on a very large jungle tree, and everyone followed behind. Once they had climbed all the way up they set up camp at the very top of the tree. As Rexum was helping everyone up onto the top leaves he said,

"We will be safest up here. We will sleep underneath the smaller force field for now, as this is only our temporary site. Now, everyone must get enough rest, we have only 101 blocks to go until we reach the Temple of Day And Night."

No one objected to the idea of rest, everyone was pretty tired from all the walking they'd been doing. As night fell Rexum formed another gold protection cube around them and everyone then set up their beds. Mark crawled underneath his covers and sighed with exhaustion. But before he fell asleep his thoughts disturbed him once again.

"Once we find the Mastermind I should ask him if he knows anything on the location of Vanessa and Lucas and Bonbon. I kinda just disappeared on them, and it's been nearly a week since I fell onto this planet of... What's it called again? Buenomalo, I think. Yeah. Man, they had better not be dead or eaten by the mutated life here or something..." he thought to himself.

Once he had made his decision he fell asleep from utter fatigue.

* * *

Apparently, thinking about his sister and friend and... Little Creeper thingy... Altered his sleep, because that night he had another dream, and this time it was about them.

Mark was standing in a dark room, and the only light was from a fountain of lava in the very center. He could hear something moving in the dark that lay ahead, and his curiosity overcame him, so he moved towards the noise. Soon it was too dark to see anything, so he placed a torch that was in his hand. As the light flared up he screamed and backed up, for staring angrily at him were three larger-than-life cave spiders, all three of them pitch black with blood-gushing red eyes. Clearly they were mutated, because the blood that oozed from their eyes was eating away at the floor, creating a gap between Mark and the spiders.

But the worst part was that Mark could see Vanessa, Lucas and Bonbon all tied to the stone wall with sticky cobwebs, and there were poisonous fangs pierced through their hands, feet, and chests. Their eyes were gouged out and bites were all over their faces, all of them oozing black gunk. Suddenly, the dead bodies of his friends all turned to look at Mark, and he wanted to scream out for help, but the cold of the room clouded his lungs, and all he could do was keep his mouth in a horrible gape. In his shock he fell backwards, but instead of falling onto stone he found himself being burned away by the black blood oozing from the cave spiders' eyes. While he was in pain and immobilized on the ground, the middle cave spider launched forward towards him with its great fanged mouth open and...

* * *

Mark awoke with a start; again he was in a terribly cold sweat. He looked around him at his friends. He sighed in relief when he saw that no one was missing. But then, as he lay his head back on his pillow, he heard a bloodcurdling scream. He bolted upright and jumped out of bed. H peered over the edge of the tree they had taken refuge in and his mouth went dry. Lying on the jungle floor far below was little Amelia, her eyes gouged out, her body twisted and broken, gashes over her face, her body oozing black gunk.

Mark screamed out in shock, waking everyone. One by one they came to the edge and saw the horrid scene below on the jungle floor. They hurtled back down the tree on the vines and quickly ran to Amelia's broken figure. She was, in fact, dead. Giant poison-leaking fangs were stabbed through her hands and feet, pinning her to the ground. Mickey, her silverfish, was shivering in fear inside her little pj pocket. Mark slowly took Mickey out, and Mickey's beady little silverfish eyes stared up at him. Then a voice echoed inside his head.

"Miss Amelia... Dead... Black spiders... Killed... Scary... Help..."

Mark recalled Amelia saying that Mickey could speak to her, and now he was speaking to him. He wasn't sure if he was crazy anymore, so he just answered the silverfish.

"Mickey, we can't help her anymore. She's gone."

They watched in grief as Kelsey bent over Amelia's dead body and sobbed. But suddenly, Kelsey backed up and watched as something glowing rose up from out of her small chest. It was like a small shifting cube of light, and it was colored pink. The mysterious object floated up and then expanded, covering over Amelia's broken figure. It flashed three times with pink light, and then dissipated into the air. Amelia's body was completely gone when the mysterious pink cube faded away. Kelsey cried silently, but then managed to choke out,

"W-what... Just... *Sniff* Happened?"

Gabe spoke solemnly from behind with his head down.

"That was her soul. She indeed was a human who once lived on Earth that was reborn here. The color of a soul depends on the kind of person that it belongs to. Pink souls mean innocent and caring, never judging. Her soul will go to the Aether as long as it is not black, which is the only soul that is twisted and cruel, which do not go anywhere except the depths of The Void, even deeper than we live here on Buenomalo." he explained.

They did not go back into the tree for the rest of the night, but instead stood and mourned over Amelia's death during the remaining dark. All night Rexum was silent, but when the sun began to rise again and everything around them returned to normal he got everyone's attention and said,

"It is clear that my small force field is not enough to protect us. We will have to use the Eyestone as frequently as possible, although I am not sure how long it will be able to protect us."

Despite Amelia's death everyone knew that they still had to find the Temple Of Day And Night, so they continued on, and thankfully for only 101 more blocks. Mickey decided to call Mark his new master and slithered up into his Blockpack for shelter. Mark didn't really care, he was too busy watching Kelsey. She was singing quietly to herself the song "Someday" by Nickelback.

_"How the hell'd we wind up like this?_

_Why weren't we able_

_To see the signs that we missed_

_Try and turn the tables?"_

They continued on that way, everyone listening to Kelsey's sorrowful music. But then, after the rest of the distance was traveled they finally arrived at the Temple Of Day In Night. Despite any hardships they had endured, it was time to move on; they still had an important journey to survive through.

* * *

**Noooooooo! Little Amelia? How could she have died? Why?! WHY?! *sniffles***

**Anyway... Let's do some more QAA!**

**To Mark: Have you got cobweb powers?**

Mark: Wait, what's that?

**To Norman: Maybe you got cobweb powers cos Molly Dirtslab's DNA got on the buckets, effecting the taste of the milk.**

Norman: Aha! I have always thought of that! It must be because of her!

**To the Glitch: MWAAHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHA(Evil laugh challenge)!**

The Glitch: Well then, MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I have one more HA than you do! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

**To the Glitch: What is your favorite color and animal?**

The Glitch: I hate colors and I hate animals, all I want is DEATH! So, if I had to answer, BLACK and DEAD ANIMALS! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

**To Pikapika (Kelsey): For the skin changer, can you make yourself another one, or have more than two?**

Pikapika (Kelsey): Actually, yeah, I can, I have, like, a hundred different skins. The one I'm wearing now is just the one showing what I looked like on Earth.

**To the Glitch: Calm down, some people are just egging you on. Don't let them get to you, otherwise it could mess up your plans.**

The Glitch: I am a virus, I have no emotions! I will kill and kill and keep killing, and I will not let ANYONE nag me! I will KIIIIIIIILLLLLLLL! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

**To Salutem: Do you have your own good viruses?**

Salutem: Yes, yes I do, and they're actually not viruses, they're all virus-protection programs.

**To Vanessa: What is the book about and where can I find it?**

Vanessa: Oh, I thought you'd never ask! This is "Moby Dick", you can find it at any library in your area. It's about a young sailor named Ishmael who goes on a sea voyage to kill the fearsome whale named Moby Dick with his harpoon, for the legend states that no sailor has ever blahblahblahblahblahblahblahblah...

**To Vanessa: Where are you in Minecraft right now?**

Vanessa: I don't know. That Lucas kid and I never sleep, the landscape keeps mutating every night! We can only take naps in the daytime, at night we have to keep running. I wish I had Mark here so I could whap him on the head with "Moby Dick" again.

**Ok, guys, I have something important to say. This is the last of my prepared chapters, so chapter posts might not be right away for the future. Also, I know you have all been waiting for this moment, but here it is... I AM NOW ACCEPTING OCS! Here's the information you have to include...**

_Name:_

_Gender:_

_Age:_

_Personality:_

_Weapon Of Choice:_

_Strengths:_

_Weaknesses:_

******Please, send in your OCs! I'll wait until AFTER tomorrow to start writing so that I can decide the OC, who will be appearing in the upcoming chapter. Remember that it'll be longer of a wait now that I don't have everything prepared, but I'll have it soon! The winner of the OC will be announced at the beginning of next chapter, just stay tuned!**

**Alright, but for next time, how will Mark and friends be able to survive through their deep depression after what happened to Amelia? Will they all survive for the rest of the quest? They should be better off now that they have supplies, but what about the strangely mutated landscape that unfolds at nighttime? Find out NEXT chapter in VOiD!**

**But for now, this is Pastrinator64, and I'll see you later with chapter numbah seven!**

***throws sugar bomb, disappears in a cloud of fine white sugar***

**Byyyyyeeeeee...**

**~Pastrinator64 [~]**


	7. Chapter 7: A Perplexing Maze And Man

**Attention, attention! I must say that I will not be here all next week! I am going up to my cottage in Boulder Junction with the family, so I'll be gone for that time, so don't expect any chapter postings then. Thanks, I know you all understand! :D**

**Hello, this is Pastrinator64 with another chapter from VOiD! I would just like to announce the winner of the OC contest! The winner is Kyle McShade with the OC of Adrian Stevenson, who will be starring in this very chapter! Now, how about some replies to reviews?**

Replies To Reviews...

**CSICreeper: **Ah yes, frosted strawberry, please! X3

**Kyle McShade: **Congrats on being the winner! I loved your OC, and he'll be appearing in this chapter!

**iliketoreviewthegoodstries: **Oh yeah! *brofist* And I'll keep in mind to read that chapter!

**Guest: **That's the Glitch's style; you can't blame it for that.

**Enderdude: **I feel bad about myself now... But slightly amused... And also, with the OC thing, you're fine. :D

**Enderwolf: **I know, I know, it just seemed... Don't make me explain it, I can't... :/

**Star223: **Thank you for contributing.

**YoshiEmblem: **I read the history.

**Somebody10101: **That will all be revealed later, my young apprentice! ;)

**funkypigeon . com: **Er, who's Chris?

**EnderBlazeHybrid: **When was the first time? Are you referring to the lady that got killed at Salutem's party? Also, Rexum is WAY older than twenty.

**CSICreeper: **No, I'd prefer if you'd keep it to one at a time. It's easier for me, if you can understand. If you do, then thanks. :)

**Alrighty then! Now then, with our new OC in place let's get on with the story! :D**

**Hello, this is Pastrinator64 with another chapter from VOiD. Last time on VOiD we watched as Mark and his friends saved a little girl named Amelia from a death by mutated mobs. After spending a day with the little girl they headed out on their own towards the jungle where they needed to find the ancient Temple Of Day And Night with the Mastermind inside. With the help of Rexum's epic magic they were able to get through the jungle quickly—or at least as quick as Rexum decided to hobble along with that golden oak cane. They didn't stop for days, but once they were close they rested high up in a tree where the danger was small. But then, in the middle of the night Amelia was taken by mutated spiders, thrown off the gigantic tree onto the jungle floor, then killed with their infected fangs, leaving Mickey, her pet silverfish, alone, and making him turn to Mark to be his new master. But now they finally reach the Temple Of Day And Night. But, before we watch them enter the interesting temple we check back on adults Norman and Lizzy to see how they are taking their loss...**

**Now, let the story commence!**

* * *

_Chapter 7: A Perplexing Maze And Man_

"I... I always knew it w-was unhealthy for him to p-play so m-much Minecraft... But I didn't think it would c-come to this..."

Back on Earth, both adult Norman and Lizzy Cobweb were standing in the brightly lit room where Mark lay on the operation table. Mark lay unconscious, and there were tubes sticking out of his legs, arms, chest, nose and head, all of which were connected to a large whirring piece of machinery behind him. He was on life support, totally in a coma.

Next to him was another operating table. This one held the comatose figure of Vanessa, the same tubes connecting her body to the whirring machine. Both of them were in terrible comas. The doctor standing between the two tables approached Lizzy and said,

"Mrs. Cobweb, I am not sure how to explain their conditions. We know they're both in level nine comas, but we just can't find the cause. Wounds have been appearing and disappearing from his body at random, we've seen blade marks and bruises of all sorts, but then they vanish soon after."

Lizzy just continued to sob into her hanky. The doctor walked over to the machine that Mark and Vanessa's unconscious bodies were connected to and said,

"Your son and daughter have been unconscious for almost two weeks, if we can't find the cause of this soon we will run out of money for the operation. Our only other choice would be to take them off life support."

Lizzy looked up and her puffy eyes glared at the doctor with pure hatred.

"No! You can't take them off life support! Not MY babies!"

The doctor's eyes lowered, looked back to Lizzy, then went to the figure of Mark, then to Vanessa.

"We assure you, neither Mark nor Vanessa will feel a thing, it'll just be like falling asleep for them." he assured her.

Lizzy shook her head, and then launched her arms forward, grabbing the doctor's spotless lab coat.

"I won't let you! We will keep them on life support until you find out what's going on!"

The solemn adult Norman standing nearby made Lizzy release the doctor, and she started sobbing again. The doctor sighed and looked back to Mark and Vanessa on the operation tables. Then he sighed and said,

"Ok, I'll keep them on life support, but we have to find out more about their conditions, and soon."

Norman sighed with relief, and then looked down at his wife. He tilted her head up so she would look at him.

"Lizzy, I think I know what's going on..." he whispered, quiet enough for the doctor to miss.

Lizzy's eyes stared at him wide and red as he continued.

"I think that Mark... You saw that crater where his body was? And you know how Vanessa went missing from the house that night and was found lying right next to him?" Lizzy nodded quietly. Norman leaned closer and whispered in her ear, "The crater they had fallen next to was... Cube shaped."

Lizzy's eyes widened not in fear or anger or sadness, but this time in utterly shocking realization.

"You don't mean they... Just like what happened to us... They're inside..."

* * *

"They're inside that temple; both the Mastermind and his Master Compass, both of which will help us find the center of Buenomalo." said Rexum.

Mark, Rexum, Kelsey and Gabe were now standing front of the Temple Of Day And Night. Even though little Amelia was murdered brutally, everyone stuck together and kept walking until they reached the temple. The temple itself was made of a checkerboard-patterned mix of black wool and white wool. The temple was shaped just like a desert temple, so they walked towards one of the side entrances and entered.

Mark's eyes widened in amazement, because the space inside was magically grown to be 10x bigger than it looked from the outside. There was a giant square Yin Yang in the center. The pattern continued throughout the inside. The four of them walked slowly through the black and white room until they were standing on the square Yin Yang. Suddenly, a voice echoed through the room from an unknown source.

"Eeheeheeheeheehee! Welcome, one and all, to the Mastermind's temple of fun! Eeheeheeheeheehee!"

Rexum rubbed two dry fingers into his temple, balanced on his golden-oak staff and sighed impatiently.

"Mastermind, we must speak to you about the Balance Saga." he shouted out, his ancient voice resonating through the room.

The voice, supposedly belonging to the Mastermind they'd been looking for, spoke again.

"Well, if my funny little friends want to talk to me, they'll have to find their way through my perplexing Maze Of Wonder! EeheeheeheeHEEHEEHEE!"

Suddenly, the entire Yin Yang below them disappeared, and all of them fell into the whirlpool of black and white water below. Mark gasped for breath as the suction took him down into the hole, and he started to freefall, the Mastermind's creepy giggle echoing from all around. He landed on his back in a dark room. As he stood up he heard the Mastermind's voice in his head say,

"Time for some devilishly creepy fun! Eeheehee!"

Mark heard a springy noise come from his left, and something smashed into him. He couldn't see what it was in the dark, but he just swung his sword, and suddenly, the room turned blinding bright. He whirled around to see a creepy Jack-In-The-Box that was completely black nearby, which twitched and screeched at him, and then turned white, disappearing in the blinding light around him.

The now-camouflaged Jack-In-The-Box launched forward from somewhere and hit him again, and Mark yelled out in pain as he felt its pointy teeth sink into his shoulder, and he quickly slashed blindly. Just like the last time he swung his sword, the room switched again to the pitch-blackness, and he caught a small glimpse of the evil Jack-In-The-Box before it turned black to disappear.

_"Both the room and the creepy toy thingy change when I swing my sword, but how the heck do I kill this thing?!" he wondered to himself._

Mark heard a rustle and lifted up his sword to block the camo-jester creep, and then swung. He heard it screech, and when the room switched to blinding white again he saw the black Jack lying on its side at his feet, its head spinning, its spring twitching and vibrating; he actually hit it that time. Mark wasted no time and brought his sword down, slicing the spring into two, ending the shadowy Jack-In-The-Box's life. The creepy living toy disappeared in a puff of black and white particles.

Suddenly, the surroundings around Mark changed, and something grabbed him from out of nowhere. He blinked for a moment and instantly he was in a room where the walls, ceiling and floor had shifting black and white patterns. He was now in a black and white jelly-like encasing from the neck down, his entire body immobilized. The Mastermind's evil giggle echoed through the room again.

"Let's see how you handle THIS! EEHEEHEEHEEheeheeheeheeheeheehee!" he said.

Suddenly, four blocks—one from each wall—disappeared, and that black and white water starting to gush in. Instead of just flowing and then stopping like the normal water in Minecraft it began to fill up in the room. Mark's stomach knotted and he started to panic. He struggled to get out of his sticky cocoon, plus when he looked around he could see no exit.

The water was already up to his chest considering the small room he was in. He tried to think, but with the panic and the confusing shifting black and white on the walls he began to get a headache. The water now was to his neck, and the only thing he could do was get in as much air as possible. But, just before the water rose over Mark's head he had an idea, and stretched the sticky jelly trapping him up over his head, encasing him entirely. Miraculously, there was a huge bubble of air inside, which he stuck his head in to breathe. He watched as the black and white water filled the room entirely from his safety bubble.

The Mastermind's evil giggle sounded gurgled from inside where Mark was, but suddenly, everything went dark and he felt his eyes close without his doing. He opened them a few seconds later and found himself sitting strapped in a chair in another one of those shifting black and white rooms. He saw a giant creepy black snake with white eyes slither up to him and hiss. Suddenly, in under the time it takes to blink the snake was right beside him.

The snake suddenly duplicated into its opposite, this snake with white scales and black eyes. The other snake slithered to his opposite side, and together both of the snakes rolled up Mark's Minecraft T-shirt, exposing his stomach.

"You'll love this one! It's called Bittersweet Torture! Enjoy! Eeeheeheeheehee!"

Both the snakes licked on opposite sides of his stomach, the white snake's tongue tickling his stomach while the black snake's tongue burned it. He screamed out in pain, but found himself laughing as well. They snakes continued in opposite patterns, letting their tongues slide up his shirt and move all over his torso, tickling and burning it at the same time. Mark immediately understood why it was called Bittersweet Torture, because he wanted to laugh and scream at the same time. Half his body burned with pain while the other one prickled with uncomfortable pleasure.

The snakes slithered down to his feet and removed his shoes and shocks, licking his soles. One foot was being driven crazy by the tickling of the white snake while the other felt like it was being dipped in molten rock. Mark tried to concentrate and figure out what to do, but the torture was making him feel very tired and hurt and uncomfortable. Finally, in the midst of his laughing and screaming he inched his sword near the straps on the chair that held his arms down and cut the right one, freeing his sword arm. Both of the snakes looked up too late, and both were slashed with the diamond blade.

The two snakes hissed and disappeared in puffs of black and white smoke. Mark cut the rest of his bonds and jumped out of the chair, looking for his shoes and socks. Of course, he didn't find them anywhere. So instead he looked around, his diamond sword at the ready.

"Alright, you ghoulish creep, what else do you want me to do?!"

He heard the Mastermind speak again, saying,

"Alright, time for your final game! Eeheeheeheeheeheehee!"

The room shifted and he found himself standing on a gigantic chessboard of black and white. There were no chess pieces anywhere. He stood on one of the white squares. A few seconds later he heard the Mastermind speak again.

"Alright, time for you to meet my monster! Eeheeheeheeheeheeheehee! GOOD LUCK! EEEEEEHEEEEEEEHEEEEEEEHEEEEEEEHEEEEEEEEHEEEE!"

A puff of white smoke appeared on the other side of the room on the king's space. When the smoke cleared there was a glowing black and white ghost, its features distorted, its face twitching and glaring at him with glowing black and white flashing eyes, its fume-crafted body shifting back and forth like a snake tail. It extended two limbs and opened its nimble-fingered hands. Two spheres of black and white energy appeared in them—the black in the left hand and the white in the right. The creature lifted its bony hands up, both the black and white spheres mixing together in a swirl of dark and light, glowing with pure energy. The monster screeched with its hands raised and a group of letters flew from out of the new Yin Yang's aura, forming a name: "SUNSHADOW". To top off the suspense, the tune of "The 5th" by David Garret began to play.

The beast named Sunshadow screeched again and flew forward on a cloud of black and white fumes that made up its body. As it came towards Mark he jumped to the side to make his way across the room. When the creature came close it hurled its Yin Yangs at him, each one barely deflected by Mark's blade. As Mark circled the creature he tried to figure out what its weakness is, but he couldn't think of anything. Instead, he ran forward with his sword and was about to slash through Sunshadow's center when the spirit whirled around and slashed its claw-like hands into his face, sending him flying into the wall with a grunt.

Mark wiped dripping blood from the three slash marks on his forehead, and when he looked he could see that it was mixed with that black and white stuff. But he didn't really care, he stood up, ignoring the searing pain in his wounds. He ran forward and slashed with his sword, but even when turned around Sunshadow whirled around just at the exact moment his sword was at the point to strike and slashed him again in the EXACT same spot, and Mark was knocked onto the floor, blood mixed with black and white substance pouring out of the three slash marks on his forehead.

Mark screamed out of sheer pain, clutching his forehead where his wound was, blood seeping from between his fingers. Sunshadow let out an unearthly screech and its eyes began to glow with even more intensity. Mark collapsed to the ground, still clutching his wound, and squeezed his eyes shut.

_"I can't stop this thing! It... It knows what I'm gonna do before I do! God, this hurts so bad!"_

Suddenly, from the darkness beneath his eyelids a light appeared. Even though his eyes were closed, an image appeared in front of him. It was black and white like a really old film, and a little blurred, but he could see okay. He watched as a black and white him was grasped around the neck by Sunshadow and lifted into the air. He saw the spirit open a clawed hand and stab all five of its sharp fingers into his neck, and his eyes widened and he saw his mouth open in a silent scream, then he collapsed to the ground, dead. The black and white image faded away and he opened his eyes, and then looked up to see Sunshadow getting closer to him.

Mark jumped backwards despite his immense pain, and watched as Sunshadow lunged to where he was a moment before to grab his neck, but missed. Mark had no idea what was going on, but he stared back at Sunshadow, who screeched and stared at him with malice. Suddenly, everything went black and white like that old movie screen again and he saw Sunshadow lunge forward with both claws open to kill him. His vision returned the next moment, and he saw the real spirit get into an attack position.

Mark threw himself to the side to avoid the lunge, and then stabbed forward, his blade's tip going through the center of Sunshadow's chest. Suddenly, his sword stuck and he let go and fell backwards onto the ground. Sunshadow screeched with anger and pain and unearthly sound, clutching the blade. He could see a small Yin Yang floating around where he had hit, the blade stabbed right through the center of it. It was Sunshadow's now-visible soul, supposedly the monster's only weakness.

Sunshadow wrenched the diamond sword out of its chest and threw it aside, but when it looked down to check the condition of its soul it saw that it was no longer there, and it looked down to the blade beneath, where the soul was still pierced through on the end of the blade. Sunshadow let out an unearthly noise, flying around, flailing its arms, and began to smash into the shifting walls around them. Finally, it bashed into the ceiling above Mark and he dived in front of him to avoid the falling spirit. He heard Sunshadow crash down behind him, feeling a bit of wind on his feet.

Mark stood up and brushed himself off, those black and white fumes covering him from the waist down. He looked at Sunshadow's disintegrating body, and then stared around at the room around him. When he did not hear the Mastermind's voice instantly he again just clutched the three slashes on his forehead, which were searing with terrible pain beyond comprehension. He staggered over to a wall and leaned against it, catching his breath in shallow motions. He sat down there, leaning with his back against the wall, and he felt hot tears run out of his cheeks. From pain and exhaustion, he could no longer stay upright and fell over onto the floor, falling into a subconscious state a few seconds later...

* * *

Mark had yet another dream in his unconsciousness.

He found himself standing in that dark room with shifting floors again, only he was on the other side. He ran towards the light at the other end, but then the light turned red and two silhouettes appeared floating in front of the light. Both silhouettes were human bodies, one smaller than the other. Both were suspended like puppets, and then the smaller one twitched and opened its eyes. It had glowing red eyes.

But then, the silhouette puppet-like body went limp and fell to the ground in front of him with an echoing crack, turning into Lucas. But now, Lucas's figure was bent and twisted and bloody, and Mark watched in horror as it disintegrated into many black particles of plasma, which swirled around, fading away into the cold air.

The second silhouette opened its eyes, revealing glowing red eyes again. Then it fell to the ground and turned into the broken figure of Gabe, broken and scarred and bloody. That body also disintegrated into plasma, but this time it was glowing white, also swirling up and fading into the cold air.

Then all of a sudden, he heard an unearthly buzz come from the red light in front of him and the light changed, swirling from red to instead black and white. From out of the black light appeared two evil red eyes, and then two glowing blue from the other. They both looked at Mark for only a second, and then he heard a voice in his head say,

_"CHOOSE!"_

* * *

Vanessa's eyes opened and she looked around. She looked around the dimness of their little room inside the jungle tree, and all he saw was Lucas, lying asleep on his bed. She looked around once more, not seeing anything through the jungle leaves, and decided that what she had dreamed about was nothing. It was nothing... Yes...

* * *

Mark sat up on the black and white wool floor and looked around at his checkerboard surroundings. He was again sitting on that giant Yin Yang pattern. He saw no one, but then he heard the Mastermind speak a few seconds later as he was standing up, sweating and shaking.

"Hm... We seem to have a very interesting friend, don't we? Come into the next room, kid, I will speak with you."

Mark saw a doorway materialize at the back of the room and walked towards it. He entered into another room, this one was completely split. On the left side everything was made of black wool, the other side completely of white wool. This made it easier on Mark's eyes. There was a throne split by the black and white colors sitting in the center of the small room. In it sat the Mastermind.

The Mastermind was in fact a tall and nimble jester. His overall height was about three and a half blocks, but he had very thin arms and legs, just like Slenderman. His jester suit was patterned with strips of black and white and the tights were checkerboarded. He wore a black glove on his right hand and a white one on his left, same with his curly-toed jester boots. His face was your typical jester face, also patterned with black and white, and he had a large jester hat with plenty of dangling tendrils—the hat itself spun around on his head like a broken record. And behind a half-and-half black and white mask were two eyes, both shaped like triangles. The right eye was pure white outlined with blurred black, and had a black sun for a pupil while the left eye was pitch black outlined with blurred white, and had a white crescent moon for a pupil.

"So you're the Mastermind." murmured Mark, his eyes beginning to hurt from all the black and white the Mastermind held.

The Mastermind let out another of his evil giggles and then said,

"I've been watching you, Mark Cobweb. I saw what you did with my monster, I saw how you killed Sunshadow, I saw it!"

Mark found himself thinking about those black and white visions.

"I didn't do that on purpose!" he retorted.

The Mastermind drummed his nimble fingers on the throne's arm rests and said,

"Of course, it was instinct! It was MY plan, actually! Those three slash marks from Sunshadow's hand that lay embedded into your forehead," Mark touched his burning forehead and felt the slash marks, wincing when he touched them. "They are the reason you see those visions! Eeheehee!"

Mark glared at the Mastermind and said,

"What do you mean?! Ow..."

"Mark, I planned for Sunshadow to slash your forehead, the black and white energy that you see make him a physical being would mix with your blood and enter your brain, giving you the ability to see into the very near future what would happen if you did nothing! This allows you to change the future if the black and white vision shows a painful fate! I am a genius! EeheeheeheeHEEHEEHEE!"

Mark continued to glare, but in his mind he thought,

"He WANTED me to get slashed across the forehead? Now I'll have a triple-scar up there. Although, maybe it's a good thing, because if this creep isn't lying then I might be able to use these weird visions to stop things from happening!"

The Mastermind continued to laugh maniacally, but then Mark realized something, looked around, and then looked up at him.

"Where's my friends?!" he shouted, gripping his diamond sword tighter.

The Mastermind's forever-smiling face held out two hands and formed a Yin Yang in between them. Mark could see his reflection in it, but then his reflection switched to a live image of two people, their images splitting the width of the reflective Yin Yang. On the left he saw Gabe use his massive muscles to rip out of the jelly in the room filling with black and white water. On the right he saw Kelsey getting the Bittersweet Torture in the chair, laughing and screaming. She had no weapon to save her. Gabe could figure out something, but Kelsey had nothing, and she was completely helpless. Mark looked up at the Mastermind and shouted,

"Gabe can find a way out through the holes where the water comes from, but Kelsey can't get out of the chair! She doesn't have anything to use, she'll be stuck there with the snakes!"

Mark watched as Gabe splashed his way to one of the holes and climbed in, going through and disappearing.

"Well, it looks like your female friend will be getting the Bittersweet Torture forever if she can't figure something out..." taunted the Mastermind, who started laughing again.

Mark threw his arms up and screamed,

"But she's tired and hurt and extremely uncomfortable, you expect her to FOCUS?!"

"Well, she'd better, like I said, the snakes won't stop until they are beaten."

"But she has nothing!"

The Mastermind pointed again to the reflection and said,

"That's not true, Mark."

Mark looked back and saw something very shocking. The white snake with black eyes was cuddling up beside her, and she was petting it, cooing about how cute it was. She didn't have a weapon, but... But she had her own love for animals! Mark watched in amazement as the white snake slithered over Kelsey to the black snake and hissed, and the black snake then cuddled up with Kelsey with the white one, and Kelsey just continued to pet them. She whispered again in their ears and miraculously the two snakes bit off her bonds that kept her in the chair. She stood up and cooed with the snakes one last time, and then headed off-screen somewhere.

"As you can see, swords are not the only tool to use in a situation, hm? Unlike you and her, I had a person wander here a while ago who is STILL getting the Bittersweet Torture. But he's been here for almost two days; I could've sworn he'd die after an hour. I believe his name is Adrian Stevenson. This is him..." said the Mastermind in a singsong voice.

Mark looked back to the reflective Yin Yang saw a different person strapped in the chair with the black and white snakes licking his waist. He looked just over fifteen years old. He had shaggy auburn hair and chocolate brown eyes. He was quite tall and wore a blue checkered shirt, jeans, a cowboy hat, and Mark could see a pair of cowboy boots thrown aside. He looked kinda like a country artist. Mark could see that in his right hand he held a frying pan for some reason—Mark figured it was some sort of mod.

This guy looked like he had been there a while, he was so tired and hurt that he had no strength left to scream or laugh, just silently endure the torture with those wide brown eyes. Mark felt deeply sorry for him, and as if the Mastermind could read his thoughts, which he probably could, he murmured,

"You want to help this boy, don't you? You pity him. Well then, if you wish for him to be alive, I will woefully let him go with you—he was fun to play with anyway... Eeeheeheeheehee!"

Mark watched as the black and white snakes in the reflection bit off the straps holding the cowboyish Adrian, who stood up, launched himself off the chair and grabbed his cowboy boots. He walked off-screen, and a few seconds later Mark heard a thud and watched as Adrian teleported right onto the Mastermind, who looked down with his creepy smile at the person now in his lap.

"Helloooooooo!"

"Gyah!"

Adrian tumbled off of the Mastermind's lap, landing on his butt on the woolen floor. He stood up and brushed off his checkered blue shirt even though there was nothing on it. He pulled his boots back on and then straightened his cowboy hat. As he was glaring up at the Mastermind he said,

"Two damn days! TWO!"

The Mastermind just continued to smile.

"You were a fun patient, I will only say that."

Adrian raised his iron frying pan and said,

"I could knock that head of yours clean off!"

The creepy jester sitting before them folded his fingers together and said,

"Oh, I seriously doubt that. Such a young and impudent mind. EEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEE!"

"Mastermind, that's enough!"

Mark turned his head around to see Rexum walk through the doorway, hobbling along on his golden oak staff. He stopped behind Mark and Adrian, who turned around to see him.

"You've had your fun, now we must discuss serious business." he muttered discouragingly.

Mastermind's two sun and moon eyes rolled and he said,

"Alright, I'll summon those other two people in here." he snapped his fingers and called out with, "Ridere! Clamatis! Come!" he shouted, slapping his thigh.

The white snake with black eyes and the black snake with white eyes slithered in through the doorway, brushing past Mark and Adrian, who both flinched a little. The two snakes stood at full height at the Mastermind's feet for only a moment, but then their snake bodies twisted together into a living black and white staff, which the Mastermind picked up and twirled around in his fingers, the snakes not minding it at all. The Mastermind looked again at the doorway and watched as both Kelsey and Gabe entered. When Ridere and Clamatis saw Kelsey walk in they both hissed and uncurled from their staff formation and slithered towards her. Kelsey bent down and rubbed their scales, grinning.

"Hey guys! Miss me? Oh, I bet you did, you cuties!"

The white snake with black eyes named Ridere slithered up onto her shoulder and curled snugly around her left arm while the black snake with white eyes named Clamatis curled around her right leg like it was a tree branch. Kelsey sat down and played with the two snakes while Rexum spoke to the Mastermind.

"Mastermind, we need the Master Compass to find our way to the center of Buenomalo where the Void Transport is." he explained.

The Mastermind swiveled around in his chair and swung his legs over the side, looking over their group with those peculiar eyes of his.

"Alright, I'll give it to you on one condition!" his eyes glimmered with mischief for a few seconds before he said, "You and I have a magic duel! You can use any spells—strength, agility, etc, I really don't care. We can have it right outside in the main room, the young ones can speculate from here, but they may not interfere."

Rexum's ancient pale icy eyes stared down the Mastermind's for a few intense seconds. In the silence Mark heard Mickey's voice echo in his head.

_"Master Cobweb? This is bad. I don't like the creepy man."_

"It's ok, Mickey." murmured Mark, patting somewhere behind him on the leather of his Blockpack.

Adrian leaned over, having to bend down slightly to reach Mark's ear, and he whispered,

"Who's the old man?"

Mark leaned over and whispered out of the corner of his mouth,

"That's Rexum, he's a fortuneteller/wizard that's been helping us with our journey. I'm the main hero of the third chapter for the Divination Of Dimensions."

Adrian's brown eyes widened and he said,

"Cool. You're Mark Cobweb, right?"

"Yep."

Mark noticed a western accent hidden in Adrian's speech and smiled a little. It fit him, he truly was a cowboy with those clothes and that accent. At this time Rexum walked another step forward and stared deep into the Mastermind's black and white sun/moon eyes and declared,

"I believe this is how the young people say it, so I say it now: challenge accepted!"

The Mastermind leapt off his throne and over everyone's head and landed in front of the doorway. They all turned around to see Rexum shuffle with his golden oak cane up to the Mastermind's side. The Mastermind snapped his fingers and Ridere and Clamatis slithered over to him, twisting again into the long staff. Together the two magic men headed into the larger room, and Mark, Kelsey, Gabe and Adrian all crowded around the doorway to watch. They Gabe and Adrian were tall enough to see over Mark and Kelsey, but both Mark and Kelsey fought over the space. Mark got stuck lying on the floor while Kelsey stood over him. It wasn't comfortable, but they could all see.

Mastermind's made his way to one end of the room walking like an Enderman would, using that half walk/glide motion. Rexum took another two minutes to hobble to the other end on his cane, but finally he stopped at the black and white wall opposite of the Mastermind. Then the magic duel began.

Rexum held up his cane and pointed it at the Mastermind. A golden beam shot from it, which formed a bolt like lightning, crackling loudly as it hurtled towards the Mastermind. But the creepy jester held out his own staff made from the two snakes and deflected the lightning, sending it all over the place. Then Rexum stopped and it was the Mastermind's turn.

The Mastermind twirled his staff in midair, and it stopped above him, suspended there. From out of the two spinning ends came a black beam of energy and a white one. The two of them swirled around into a vortex, spiraling towards Rexum. But then Rexum brought down his staff on the ground and created that glittery gold force field around him, and the energy merely bounced off. The Mastermind stopped and caught his staff, giving Rexum the opportunity to strike.

Rexum, even though he was probably over a hundred years old, zoomed forward with his staff in his right hand close to his side. He thrust it at the Mastermind, who blocked it with his own staff, the two of them creating a burst of light when they hit. Rexum dodged a swing from the Mastermind's staff, which, for the record, was at least three times longer. Then he jumped up and sliced with his gold-embedded staff, but was blocked by the Mastermind again. Rexum was now floating in the air on a cloud of gold particles, and he flew backwards, his green robes fluttering in the air. The Mastermind twirled his black and white staff again and created a tornado, which flew underneath him, allowing him to go up into the air with Rexum, whose eyes intensified.

"Not bad, old friend! Eeheeheeheeheehee! It's been a while; a couple hundred years, as I remember it."

On the floor in the doorway Mark's eyes widened and he thought to himself,

_"Geez, Rexum's older than I thought! Hundreds of years at least!"_

Rexum flew forward on his cloud and swung, the two staffs meeting again in a burst of light. Their staffs flew back and forth with blurring speed, and it was hard to watch with all the light flashes. It was pretty darn cool to all of them watching from the doorway, since everyone viewed Rexum as a rickety old fart.

The Mastermind twirled his black and white staff around with two hands, creating a swirling vortex of light and dark in front of it. Rexum turned away instantly; he knew better than to look into the vortex. But then the staff was brought down, smacking into Rexum's forehead, and the old man fell down to the black and white ground of wool, his many braids of silver hair flying up. As soon as he landed he held up his golden oak staff to knock away a stab from the Mastermind, who did a graceful backflip the moment later to avoid the old man's own swipes.

When the Mastermind landed he thrust out his staff to hit Rexum, but the robed man ducked out of the way every time the Mastermind's staff flew in his direction. Finally, Rexum was close enough for his plan, and he did a quick frontflip all the way over the Mastermind, slicing behind while in midair. His golden oak staff finally met the Mastermind's body, and it was powerful enough to send the creepy jester into the wall all the way through the Temple Of Day And Night wall. A beam of black and white energy shot at supersonic speed, colliding with the unsuspecting Rexum, sending him flying through the other wall.

A few seconds of silence in the room went by. Then both Rexum and the Mastermind walked in through their holes in the black and white walls. Rexum's robes were again tattered and torn, their rips even bigger than before. The Mastermind was clutching his left arm and limping as he walked in. Both of them looked roughed up. Rexum and the Mastermind stopped in front of each other in the center where the giant Yin Yang was and then shook hands.

"Eeheehee... Hee... Let's call this a draw." muttered the Mastermind.

Rexum nodded silently, but then let go of the jester's nimble fingers and said,

"A deal's a deal. Now you must give us the Master Compass."

The Mastermind held out his right hand with the black glove and turned it upside-down, then back up again, and a compass appeared. All of it was black except the thin white needle inside, which quivered slightly. Rexum reached out his bony hand to take the Master Compass, but the Mastermind closed his hand over it and said,

"First tell me why."

Rexum sighed, his voice strained, but still explained.

"My young companion Mark Cobweb is the Ultra Hero of the third chapter from the Divination Of Dimensions, and he needs to get the Balance Core from the Void Transport to the Void Palace to the Aether and place it back on its rightful pedestal. In order to get to the Void Transport we need to find the center of Buenomalo, which means we need the Master Compass to guide us."

The Mastermind took a glance at all of them who had been stuffed into the doorway. He beckoned for them to approach, so everyone fought their way through the doorway until they were all through it. Mark walked until he stood before the slender Mastermind, who stared down at him with those peculiar sun and moon eyes.

"May I see the Balance Core?"

Mark nodded and took off his Blockpack and set it on the ground. As he was looking for it Mickey crawled out and lay down on Mark's shoulder, looking with his beady black eyes at the Mastermind. His voice echoed inside Mark's head.

_"Master, he is scary."_

Mark pulled out the lidless bottle that held the item form of the Balance Core and handed it to the Mastermind, who inspected it closely.

"Ah yes, I remember when I made this so long ago..."

"YOU made it?" said Adrian in that western accent.

"Of course. Seeing it again is comforting but at the same time disturbing; this belongs on its pedestal in the Aether Palace under Notch's protection, not stuck up in this bottle..." murmured the Mastermind.

The tall jester handed the Balance Core in its bottle back to Mark, who clutched it in his hand with a sort of pride.

"Well, you had better go then!" he tossed Mark the Master Compass, and he caught it with his other hand. "I wish to see my Balance Core where it should be very soon."

Mark looked at the Balance Core in its bottle and thought to himself,

"Man... This little black and white cube is the item that will decide the life or death of all the dimensions in the universe. I just CAN'T let the Glitch take it from me, if I lose this now it will be able to harness its power and... And take over all of the dimensions..."

Mark tightened his grip on the bottle with that all-powerful black and white cube inside. He WOULD succeed in getting it safely to the Aether, even if he had to die for it.

They waved goodbye to the Mastermind as they left the Temple Of Day And Night, and Mark decided to get acquainted with this western Adrian. He walked up to the guy and said,

"So, Adrian, you're fifteen, right?"

Adrian looked down at Mark and said,

"Tha's right."

"So, what were you doing before you found that temple?"

"I was actually on the run. My city was being attacked by all those mutated mobs and there were black bombs being dropped on our city."

Mark thought about that for a second, because that's exactly what happened to Invacuo City.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Tha's alright. My ma and pa escaped, but I never found them. I've been on the run for about a week."

"Two weeks for us..." murmured Mark.

A few seconds of awkward silence went by, but then Mark looked back up again and asked,

"What was your life like before the bombing?"

Adrian smiled with that long mouth of his.

"Me and my family were the least city-drawn. We always went out into the desert on our horses and roped cattle for the fun, plus we had lots of cookouts, and there was always plenty o' beer," Mark suddenly felt nervous. "So we always had lots o' fun. What about you?"

Mark felt a sudden pinch in his stomach when he thought about Earth. He hadn't thought about it for a long time, two whole weeks, in fact. He wondered how his parents were taking everything. He hoped that they knew he was in Minecraft, because from the stories people told him while he was in Minecraft they got sucked in too when they were his age, so they'd know what to do.

"I'll be honest, I LOVED to have fun. I always went to parties and hung out with friends. It's too bad though, I only ever had one girlfriend, but that was two years ago, and I don't even remember anything about her, not even her name."

Mark's shoulders sagged, but Adrian put his arm around Mark and said,

"Tha's ok, at least you were well-liked."

Mark nodded and then felt himself grin. He looked up at Adrian and said,

"Yeah, at least I'm not like my sister. The only friend she's got is her book!"

The two of them chuckled over that, but then they heard someone shout from above.

"HEY! THAT'S NOT TRUE!"

Mark craned his neck to see, but way up inside a tree he could see a hollowed out room with people inside. He couldn't see who they were, but he yelled,

"Vanessa?! Is that you?!"

"Of course it is, idiot!"

Mark gestured for her to come down.

"Come on down, we need you guys to stay with us!"

Suddenly, there was a scream and Vanessa fell out of the tree. Mark had a sudden moment of gut-wrenching panic, but then when she was five blocks from the ground she caught onto some vines dangling down from the tree next to hers. As she was descending slowly to the ground she shook one fist up at the tree she was in and screamed,

"Lucas, I am going to KILL you!"

Now everyone in their group had stopped to see what the commotion was. They watched as Lucas launched himself out of the tree yelling excitedly, and he too caught onto the vines next-door. Bonbon the baby Creeper fell out of the tree as well, but didn't fall far enough to reach the vines, so Mark jumped to the ground and caught her from beneath. Vanessa stomped over to Lucas with "Moby Dick" poised to strike. Mark quickly stepped in front of her.

"I'm just glad I found you, ok? Now that we're together again, can we get a move on? We have to find the center of this planet—it's name is Buenomalo—and find a transport that'll lead us to where we need to go." he said, being careful not to use any Minecraft words that she wouldn't understand.

After about five more minutes of arguing she finally agreed to come with them. Now everyone was together, and Mark's mind was eased. He had less to worry about, at least.

* * *

**Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeew! Now THAT was an epic magic duel! Now no one can really look at Rexum like he's a bag of old prunes, can they? How'd y'all like that there western Adrian guy? *gives credit for his cowboyishness to Kyle McShade* Now then, MORE QAA!**

**To Amelia: How is it in the Aether?**

Amelia: Oh, it is very fun! It is always cool and Mr. Notch is really nice! He's not nicer than Miss Kelsey, but still very nice! I miss Mickey though... *sniffles*

**To the Glitch: Can I join your army?**

The Glitch: MWAHAHAHAHAHA! You?! You must be joking! I accept no one in the way of recruitment, so unless you want to die to help add to my ever-growing energy you're out of luck! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

**To Mickey: How do silverfish get inside blocks?**

Mickey: We build our homes inside stone blocks; there are many cities around you when you walk by, just too small and hidden for you to see! That's why we don't like humans; they break our houses and kill many of us!

**To everyone: Why can't we just get along and play Pass The Parcel?**

Mark: What's that? Does anyone even play that anymore?

Vanessa: Can't you see I'm too busy reading... Idiot...

Lucas: Ooh! I love that game!

Kelsey: I always lose, I'm an unlucky duck. ^-^

Gabe: I do not accept requests to participate in activities for personal pleasure, that time could be spent on more... NOBLE activities.

Rexum: How can I when I am always bothered by the future? *gazes off dramatically into distance*

Amelia: NO! I wanna play Chutes And Ladders!

Mickey: I loves games!

The mutated bed from Chapter 4: BLARHGMAHARJRAHGBLAH!

The Glitch: Because GAMES are for the weak! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Salutem: Yes, why not? Inter-dimensional peace is all I ever wanted!

Salutem's right-hand program Ben: I'm now the Glitch's slave; I doubt I have extra time for anything it doesn't order me to do... I wish though... *yells out in pain as the Glitch cracks its black plasma whip on back*

**To Kelsey: Do you like Mark as a boyfriend? ;]**

Kelsey: Well, he is kinda cute... *blushes* I don't know, maybe! It's a secret! *smiles and winks*

**To Herobrine: Why do you sometimes attack people when they play Minecraft and build creepy structures and creep out people? I have gone of MCPE a long time ago because of you!**

Herobrine: I mean no real harm, I just want to see the looks on my victim's faces! *snickers to self*

**To Notch: What gave you the idea for Minecraft Pocket Edition?**

Notch: Back on Earth when I was alive I noticed how EVERYTHING was coming onto mobile devices, so I decided to make myself known among the modern technology. It was an instant success, I do not regret my choice.

**Remember everyone, I will not be here next week, for I am going up to my cottage up north in Boulder Junction. Just don't expect any chapter posts, I'll be back the week after! :D**

**Alright, but for next time, how long will it take for Mark and his friends to find the center of Buenomalo, even with the Master Compass? Will anyone be taken to the grave by the mutated landscape when it turns nighttime? And who knew that Rexum's old figure was capable of that kind of athleticism? Find out NEXT chapter in VOiD!**

**But for now, this is Pastrinator64, and I'll see you later with chapter numbah eight!**

***throws sugar bomb, disappears in a cloud of fine white sugar***

**Byyyyyeeeeee...**

**~Pastrinator64 [~]**


	8. Chapter 8: The Grief Squad

**Hello, this is Pastrinator64 with another chapter from VOiD. I am deeply sorry for the delay in chapter posting, if you didn't already know, last week I was away from home and up in Boulder Junction to spend a week at my cottage with family. Plus, for two days after I got back I had total writers block... But here I am now! But first, now we should get on with some more replies to reviews!**

Replies To Reviews...

**Kyle McShade:** *turns into a western hypnotist* Youuu are getting veeeeerrrrrry sleeeeeeepyyyyyyyyy... Listen toooooooo myyyyyyy musiiiiiiiic... XD

**Samial723: **Yes, I am very proud of how I portrayed the Mastermind. :3 I was actually having a hard time coming up with a name for him, because really, everything I thought of was so mainstream, I just had to go with something. Got it, I didn't make the connection though. Also, I'mah go put EPICSAUCE on meh cheezburgerz. X33333

**Enderdude: **I love his creepy jester laugh!

**Enderwolf: **I'm pretty sure you can't find them at the exotic pets store, I've tried... :D

**BfheadGamer: **It is Mexican! TACOS ALL AROUND!

**Guest: **Why, in fact I have thought about that! Although, I'm pretty sure I need like a couple thousand dollars to pull that off, and that's just my guess, it could be more. And yes, I shall pump out as many chapters as possible!

**funkypigeon . com: **Sorry, dude, I've already accepted an OC, I won't be having another for a while.

**Guest: **Yes, he's one year, two months, three days, ten minutes, thirty-five seconds older, just to be exact.

**Now that I've gotten out my answers, let's get on with the story!**

**Hello, this is Pastrinator64 with another chapter from VOiD. Last time on VOiD we watched as Mark and company entered the Temple Of Day And Night. There they met the Mastermind—not before going through several trials. They even met a new face—our brand new OC—named Adrian Stevenson, the tall western dude with his frying pan of justice. The Mastermind challenged Rexum to a magic duel, in which they tied after using their own epic spells, and Rexum proved to be more than the old fart they used to think he was. After explaining about their quest to get the Balance Core safely to the Aether, the Mastermind agreed to give them the Master Compass to guide them. As they were leaving they came across Vanessa, Lucas and Bonbon, who'd been taking refuge inside a large jungle tree near to the Temple Of Day And Night, and they became reunited once again. Now we watch as Mark and the gang sit down to rest, but wake to find themselves somewhere else from where they had planned.**

**Now, let the story commence!**

* * *

_Chapter 8: The Grief Squad_

Mark was in charge of the Master Compass. The white needle underneath the glass of the black compass pointed south, so that's where they headed. As they walked Mark took a headcount; it would help him focus for later on when he was directing people.

_"Alright, there's me, Vanessa, Lucas, Bonbon, Kelsey, Gabe, Adrian, Rexum, and then Mickey, who's in my Blockpack. Right, everybody's here."_

They continued to walk through the jungle—it took them longer because Rexum was fresh out of magic—until they exited the vines and entered into a desert. Mark walked with his friends, passing by a collection of cactus, some dead bushes in the shape of a crooked arrow, but nothing really exciting. That would probably be the most boring part of the trip; all they COULD do was walk.

Soon the sun was setting and Rexum had to take out the Eyestone, which was the only thing that could create a force field strong enough to protect them—they now knew after Amelia's death. Gabe took out his lead and tied it to the ground to keep the zombified horse Felix from wandering out of the force field and Lucas held Bonbon the baby Creeper close to him, not ready to lose her, not quite yet, maybe ever. Mark was also thinking about Amelia's untimely death, and apparently Mickey could read his mind, because in his thoughts he heard Mickey whisper this,

_"Master, are we not going die?"_

"I hope we don't, Mickey. Rexum is putting the force field up around us for protection, and since it's just our group and we don't have a house the force field will be small, and THAT means that the power will be more-concentrated to protect us. At least that's what he said." whispered Mark, patting his Blockpack to show some sign of comfort.

They set up their beds just as the night had fallen and the landscape had mutated. Mark kept looking to his side in bed at a mutated Creeper that would not stop staring at him. Every time he closed his eyes he would see those empty sockets, so it took him another hour to fall asleep.

* * *

Mark had another strange dream.

He was standing in a dark room. He was standing in a glass tank only wide enough for him to stand in but not move around. Although, it was at least fifty blocks tall, and he looked up to see the top, but couldn't. He could only see a blue speck at the top begin to get closer and closer. When it was roughly thirty blocks away he realized that it was water, and he panicked.

Mark turned towards the glass in front of him and pounded on it, expecting it to break, but it was protected by some kind of spell, and would not break no matter how hard he smashed it. As he was pounding a figure came from the dark and smiled at him. He couldn't quite make out the features, it was all blurry from the dream atmosphere.

But then, he looked up again and saw the water a mere five blocks from his head, and he took a huge breath, the water coming down over his upper body and then lower body in a mere second. He looked at the figure, who he could no longer see due to the darkness of the water around him. About five seconds of trying to figure out how to get out of the deathtrap his lungs began to burn. He pounded desperately on the glass, but his hand continued to bounce off. Now his lungs were screaming for air, and another ten seconds of agonizing pain he felt nothing and passed out in the dream, and the last thing he saw was the glass of the tank and then... Nothing...

* * *

"Shut up, you'll wake him."

"So what? It'd be fun to watch him squirm!"

"I said shut up!"

Mark's eyes snapped open and he saw two people standing right next to him. They weren't of his group, he knew that for sure. But then one of them turned around and he shut his eyes. He must've been breathing too loudly, because the taller of them had leaned down close to his face. Mark could feel a jagged fingernail poke his cheek. He slowed his breath, trying to look like he was sleeping, but then the figure grabbed around his neck. "Shadows" by Lindsey Stirling began to play from out of nowhere.

Mark launched into action and whipped out his sword, slashing against the figure's hand. The two of the figures shouted at him, one with a more pained voice, and he jumped out of bed and then backwards three blocks with his sword out, getting a look at the two figures. A bright light appeared. In the light, he saw a lantern being held by a gray, clammy, bony hand. Mark looked up, seeing that the hand belonged to a tall figure in a long black cloak, swiveling like liquid at the slightest movement. Mark couldn't see the figure's face because the hood was up. The only part of the figure that was showing were the gray clammy hands sticking out from the sleeves of the cloak. In the figure's hand was a blood-red dagger. The figure's breath smelled horribly rancid. Behind the tall cloaked figure was a shorter figure. The shorter figure looked exactly like the taller figure, only it was holding a sharp black stone. Mark understood the song choice now, because if anything, these two figures were more like shadows in the night, nearly invisible.

"Well, it seems he's awake. What should we do now Brizarg?" the short one hissed.

A lower voice sounded right next to the other. It too was like a hiss, and it came from the taller cloaked figure.

"You idiot, what do you think?! We were ordered by the boss to find the heroes of the Divination Of Dimensions, and then bring them to him! Weren't you listening Eragariss?" he hissed angrily.

"Oh, yeah. How about we do that now?" said the shorter one, supposedly Eragariss.

"You should stand back, or you might give away the rest of the plans. I'll do the talking here." the taller figure (Brizarg) muttered.

The taller figure named Brizarg moved forward in his ghoulish gliding motion and stopped in front of Mark, who still had his diamond sword raised. He gestured at Mark with a clammy hand.

"But before we do anything, this kid has to be immobilized."

Nobody moved or said anything. Brizarg whirled around to Eragariss, his cloak billowing this way and that, and he gestured again at Mark, only this time with anger.

"Eragariss, you dimwit, I need this kid immobilized!"

The short cloaked figure slithered forward, muttering,

"Oh, right, sorry! Heheh..."

Before Mark could move Eragariss reached out a bony hand and tapped his forehead with a skeletal finger. Suddenly, a sensation similar to that of being poured upon by a bucket of icy water came over Mark, and he went completely numb, falling flat on his face in the dirt with a crunch. He couldn't tell if he broke his nose, his vision was now blurred and he couldn't feel anything. But then another force lifted him up into the air so that he was hovering just above the ground.

"Dang it, I should've killed them both when I had the chance..." As Mark was looking around to see if anyone was awake he saw that they were all missing from their beds—even the Eyestone was gone from its spot. "Oh crap! What'd they do to everyone else? Man, this is all my fault, I'm such an idiot..." As he was trying to get the feeling back into his limbs he thought, "I HAVE to find some way out of this trance!"

Eragariss removed his clammy hand and looked up at Brizarg.

"Now what?"

"Now we get this one back to the boss."

"Ooh! Can we use the black hole again?"

"Fine, for your amusement."

Eragariss turned around and raised two of his bony hands. Mark could just see through his blurred vision a swirling dark vortex appear a few blocks from the small cloaked figure. He turned around and snapped his fingers, and Mark watched as his own body was dragged through the air towards the mini black hole. He couldn't do anything to stop him, and soon he was plunged headfirst into the vortex.

Mark only saw darkness inside, and he felt extremely cold, only he was still immobilized and helpless. Thankfully, he came back out the other end about ten seconds later, Brizarg and Eragariss following close behind. Now Mark saw before him a tall, broken-down, possibly ancient manor made of stone and cobblestone. It looked like it hadn't been used for centuries. Eragariss stepped to the front and held out his hands dramatically.

"Welcome to Chiller Manor!" he declared.

Brizarg shuffled forward and bashed him roughly on the head.

"You idiot, bad guys don't say "welcome"!" he snapped.

The three of them entered Chiller Manor. The foyer was covered in black carpet, and the walls held many gothic paintings, most or all of them featuring many painful deaths. Mark was floated all the way down the darkly lit room until they reached a pair of double doors, which they entered. Now they were in a throne room. There was a figure sitting with his back to them in a large chair of... TNT? Yep, TNT for sure. Even with his blurred vision Mark could recognize that bright red and white block. Brizarg and Eragariss faced the throne and did duplicate bows.

"We brought you the last one, boss."

The figure in the chair reached out a hand from behind the TNT throne and pushed a stone button, and pistons sprang up from all around, pushing the chair around to face them. There on the throne sat yet another dark cloaked figure with bony hands and a covered face. When the cloaked figure spoke his oily voice echoed through the room.

"Ah, Markus Cobweb. My name is Jenx. I have long awaited your arrival."

The figure stood up from his chair and pulled down the black hood that kept his face hidden. Mark would have gasped at the sight, but his mouth was frozen shut, and all he could do was stare.

* * *

Vanessa paced the floor of the dark room, wondering what to do to escape. She too had been nabbed in her sleep by those too cloaked creeps named Brizarg and Eragariss, and she was stuffed inside a small enclosed room with everyone else. She barely had the room to pace, but she did it anyway; it helped her think. Everyone around them was trying to break the blocks, but they were protected from any harm. Rexum still hadn't gotten all his magic back from that duel with the Mastermind, so he didn't bother trying to magic himself out; it would just drain him of his energy.

Vanessa sat down on the cold stone floor and opened "Moby Dick" with trembling fingers, which were trembling not just because of the cold but also fear. She had both claustrophobia and cryophobia, and she was starting to panic. In her mind she thought,

_"Ok, there's no place like home, there's no place like home. Oh, I so wish I was back home with mom and dad in my bed, with nothing to do but read my book... Ohhhh..."_

Just then, Vanessa fell backwards and yelped; the wall had fallen away from behind her. She stared up when she landed flat on her back and screamed, for Eragariss was bending over her, and she could see all too clearly what was under the black hood. She scrambled away from him and stood up, holding her book in front of her like a shield. Eragariss let out a high-pitched laugh and then said,

"Hello, kiddies!" he apparently didn't notice that Rexum was sitting there, because he was anything BUT a kid. "You're all coming with me. The boss needs to have a word with you all!"

* * *

Mark found himself staring at the cloaked figure named Jenx's face. He had not expected what he saw AT ALL...

This man had a Trollface skin, and he was—as expected—grinning mischievously. The only different was that the eyes under that wrinkled white skin were bright red to signify evil, power, or both. The Trollface in the black robes leaned forward with his oversized chin resting on his hands.

"So, tell me why you are here."

Mark ran that question around in his head. He didn't have a single clue. Plus, his mouth was still glued shut along with the rest of his body, so there was no way he could answer. Brizarg and Eragariss were standing on either side of Jenx's TNT throne, and Brizarg looked over at his shorter partner, whispering,

"Eragariss! Unfreeze him!"

Eragariss,

"Oh, right..."

He snapped two bony fingers and Mark fell from his floating position to the cold stone floor of Chiller Manor. He scrambled to his feet and stood there, searching for his sword. He caught a quick glance at the hotbar printed on his arm and his heart leaped when he saw it in the first grid square. He brushed off the arm to cover up what he had just done to keep suspicion low. Apparently neither Brizarg nor Eragariss remembered to take away his diamond sword. But he couldn't just take it out and charge at Jenx, that Eragariss still had his powerful Dark magic, no matter how stupid he appeared.

Jenx stepped off of his throne and shuffled forward like a ghost, his black cloak swiveling like fluid. He stopped when he was a mere block from Mark. Surprisingly, despite how tall Mark was this Trollfaced man was an entire block taller. He looked at the Blockpack still on Mark's back and shouted out,

"WHY hasn't his Blockpack been taken already?!"

Brizarg and Eragariss started rattling off apologies from behind him, but he shushed them with the wave of a clammy hand. He looked at Mark's Blockpack again and held out a hand, waving his fingers like he was asking for something.

"Give me the Balance Core."

Mark's stomach lurched and he thought of the Balance Core inside the indestructible bottle, which was indeed sitting unprotected inside his Blockpack. Then he thought of how Mickey would react if a clammy, bony claw reached inside where he slept.

_"Master, don't give him Balance Core."_ he heard Mickey whisper from inside.

Thankfully, he was the only one who could hear him, so nobody questioned why a voice was coming from his Blockpack. But Mark just put his foot down and stared into Jenx's glowing red eyes beneath those wrinkles with determination.

"No."

Without any warning Jenx grimaced and launched himself forward, grabbing the straps of the Blockpack. He and Mark fell to the ground, wrestling for the Blockpack. Unfortunately, Jenx got a hold of it and sent Mark flying to the other side of the room with a powerful kick. He smacked into the wall, sending stars into his vision. He could still see Jenx in the center of the room with his Blockpack, and he rubbed his eyes to get a better look. Suddenly, he heard Jenx scream and drop his Blockpack, but he couldn't see what was happening. He also heard the silverfish-hiss of Mickey. When his vision cleared a few seconds later he saw Jenx flailing his arm with Mickey, who had chomped down with his piranha-like teeth into his hand, and was pretty much latched on. The Balance Core was rolling away to the other side of the room near the doors, and both Brizarg and Eragariss were running towards it. He heard Mickey's voice in his head scream,

_"MASTER! Don't let the men get Balance Core!"_

Mark leaped to his feet, whipping his diamond sword from out of his hotbar, making it grow to fit firm in his hand, and he zoomed forward at Brizarg and Eragariss, who were almost to the Balance Core, which was still rolling away inside the bottle. Suddenly, as he was running he received another of those strange black and white images. In the image he could see Brizarg turn around with his bloody dagger. The black and white Brizarg stabbed at him, and he watched as first his sword was knocked away from his hand, then as he was stabbed just above his collarbone. His vision returned to normal and a few seconds later when he was close to the two of them he saw Brizarg notice him, and the tall cloaked figure turned and launched out to knock away his blade, but he ducked, and then avoided the stab from above. Mark slashed at the cloak, tearing it open at the bottom.

There was more of that black gunk he saw from the other mutated mobs, and it came oozing out from underneath. Brizarg screeched in an unearthly way, but Mark didn't stop, and he slashed at the hand that held the dagger, cutting it off from his cloaked arm. Brizarg clutched his arm and screeched in pain, and Mark took the opportunity to duck to the right and continue after Eragariss, who picked up the bottle just as he turned. The short cloaked man raised the Balance Core up in the air in triumph, but the next second Mark watched as a small trail of golden sparks flew from out of nowhere, knocking it out of his hand.

Mark turned around and grinned, because standing there in the doorway was Rexum, his ancient hands outstretched, guiding the stream of golden stars that flowed from out of his fingertips. The rest of his friends came charging out from the double doors where Rexum stood, all with their weapons again, all ready to bring their kidnappers to justice.

Mark turned to see Mickey being thrown against the wall to his left by the flailing Jenx. The Trollface man raised his clammy hands and declared,

"Grief Squad members, I call upon you! KILL THEM!"

Through the entrance doors to the throne room came about ten darkly-cloaked figures, each holding different tools or weapons or blocks, each with Trollfaces as skins. An epic battle began there in the chamber...

Mark launched forward at Jenx, who whipped out his own diamond sword the parry. He stabbed, but Mark blocked, and then stabbed again, just grazing his ribcage. He felt some pain stab in the newly-created wound and his stomach began to feel wet. But he had experienced worse before, and he continued to stab, parry thrust, whatever he could do to bring Jenx to his knees.

Nearby, Kelsey had taken on Eragariss, who just seemed to enjoy toying with her. Kelsey wasn't exactly the best at using swords, and even with her diamond one she was having trouble. Eragariss had removed his hood, revealing another Trollface. He giggled wickedly—similar to the Mastermind's evil chuckle—every time he would send a spell upon to Kelsey to knock her over or make her levitate, and there was absolutely no way she could do anything. Eventually Rexum noticed this and thrust out his hands, spewing those golden stars, which lifted Eragariss into the air, hurtling him to the other side of the room.

Gabe was a freaking monster, though. He rode Felix around the room, slashing his zombie sword at all of the Grief Squad creeps, and soon over half of them were poisoned. Felix couldn't feel any pain from being attacked in his undead state, so the two were a perfect duo.

Everyone else was running about the room, dueling with their own cloaked Trollface men... EXCEPT Vanessa. She was crouched behind the TNT throne to remain unseen, her Thanatophobia kicking in, and she panicked at the thought of not living. As Mark was kicking Jenx in the stomach he saw her peeking out from behind. But in the mere second he looked, Jenx jumped up and roundhouse-kicked him in the face, bruising him right on his three-slash scar. His forehead began to burn with extreme pain, especially on his scar, and he immediately thought to himself,

_"Dang it, I'm a freakin Harry Potter!"_

Vanessa saw Mark get kicked in the forehead and watched him fall, and even though she almost always despised him, her stomach lurched and she inched out from behind the throne to get a better look, her mind filling with worry. But she had crept out too far, because Eragariss had seen her the instant she came out, and he raised up his skeletal hands, forming a black beam of Dark energy. He threw his hands forward, blasting Vanessa, who screamed and held up her copy of "Moby Dick" for protection.

But instead of falling into darkness, Vanessa opened her eyes on the stone-cold floor to see the ceiling of the throne room still in view. She was dazed, but alive. She stared at "Moby Dick" with shock, for now it glowed with Dark energy, but as she looked at the lettering inside it had turned white. Then the letters disappeared, leaving only a group left, which swirled around on the pages to form this...

_USE THE BOOK_

The Dark glow around the lightened, turning into a shade of bright red, matching the maroon-colored leather binding. Vanessa stared at the words for a few moments, pondering what they meant. Then, experimentally, she raised the book and jerked it forward, and from out of the spine beneath the open pages came a red beam of energy, which curved in midair to seek out a target, which just happened to be the nearest Trollface man in black robes. The cloaked man was absorbed by the beam, and the next moment later the light cleared and all that remained was his cloak, which flowed onto the floor, its owner long gone.

Vanessa stepped out from behind the throne with a new confidence and grinned at her book. She saw an arrow from the left come hurtling after her, and thrust out her book again, and her book transformed into a large knight's shield made of that red energy. The arrow was deflected and lodged into another of the Grief Squad member nearby. She laughed, and, for the first time in what seemed a long time, something inside her opened up again, and she continued to laugh as she ran forward with her huge red shield, knocking about ten different men out of the way.

Meanwhile, while Vanessa was having fun for the first time in years and years, Mark was getting pummeled by Jenx, who was showing no mercy. He wished dearly for another one of those weird visions to help him out, but something about Jenx made his mind go blank on what to do. As Rexum blasted a Grief Squad member with his magic, he looked to his left to see Mark on the floor with his sword up to block the heavy blows from Jenx. He was being overpowered, and probably wouldn't last another ten seconds. He stopped was he was doing and ran forward, whipping out his golden oak staff. Jenx raised his sword up to deliver a final stab, but just before he brought the blade down Rexum twirled his staff like a boomerang, which flew forward and knocked the blade out of Jenx's hands, sending it clattering to the floor. Jenx turned just in time to see Rexum, but not quick enough to stop the old wizard as he reached up, grabbed his floating staff and smacked him in the temple with the knotted tip. Jenx fell to the ground in silence, his red eyes dimming. He, in fact, was dead.

Mark panted and gasped there on the floor, his mind racing about his pathetic failure. Jenx had strength in numbers, he probably wasn't used to having to deal with his enemies alone, so Mark could've beat him. But then again, why did that three-slash scar on his forehead keep burning. He still didn't want to be a, quote, 'freakin Harry Potter'. He knew that his scar and his visions had some kind of connection, but... He just couldn't figure out why.

Rexum helped Mark to his feet, who brushed himself off with one hand, the other still clutching his forehead. He looked around the throne room and noticed that all of the Grief Squad was dead or had fled. Unfortunately, several of his crew had suffered both minor and major injuries. Vanessa was the only one unharmed; she'd been protected the whole time by that giant red shield, which she had now turned back into that glowing red book. Kelsey had roughly twenty or so bruises from when she kept getting knocked around by Eragariss. Gabe didn't have very many injuries, just a few cuts and small bruises here and there, but Felix had several gashes secreting gallons of zombified blood, but thankfully, Felix couldn't feel any of it. Bonbon had ran from the room when the battle started, so she was untouched, but Lucas had a long burn going down his left leg that burned the fabric of his shorts and a long but thin slash mark across going from his chin up to his lower lip. Adrian seemed to be great with that iron frying pan of his, which set its victims aflame upon contact, and he had hardly any scratches, just a gash on both knees; blocking with a frying pan is very useful because of its surface area. Rexum's robes were tattered, but he himself looked unharmed, just tired. Mark looked down at himself and found several cuts and bruises along his body, plus there was a large welt forming on his forehead over his scar from when Jenx had slammed his foot into his forehead.

So in other words, it had been a successful battle in retrospect, or at least compared to any previous battles where they were beat up like kittens.

As Mickey slithered up Mark's leg to reach the Blockpack he said,

_"Master I have hurt..."_

"It's alright, Mickey, we'll take refuge here for the rest of the night and nurse everybody's wounds in the morning, I'll see what I can do then."

They set up camp there for the night, and apparently both the former Brizarg and Eragariss were both stupid enough not to take away their Blockpacks, so they still had everything with them. As they were setting up beds, Mark set his down near the entrance, and Vanessa came running up to him from behind. She set down her bed and said,

"Oh, Mark!" she flopped onto her bed next to him and said, "It was amazing! I had "Moby Dick" and when that cloaked guy shot his Dark magic at me I raised my book and it absorbed it, and, and then it was glowing with red and the letters inside said USE THE BOOK so I did and it shot a beam of that red energy and when I got up and used it again it turned into a shield and I just plowed right through enemies OHMYGOSHITWASAMAZING!"

Mark grinned and looked at her smiling face,

"Looks like Mrs. Stiff finally learned to have some fun."

Vanessa's smile disappeared at the mention of the word fun.

"Uh... I didn't mean it like that, it was just fascinating. I was REALLY having fun."

Mark playfully punched her shoulder and said,

"C'mon, you can't hide it from me, you actually had FUN without it involving reading your book!"

"No, that's not—"

Mark cupped his hands to his mouth and shouted,

"Hey everybody! Vanessa here actually had FUN!"

Vanessa kicked Mark in the shins and he sat back down on his bed, caressing his sore leg muscles.

"I refuse to admit any such activity. My version of fun is sitting down in bed with a mug of hot tea, reading "Moby Dick" for hours on end. Now then, goodnight!"

Vanessa turned over in her bed to face away from Mark, who just sighed and crawled under his own covers. He was making some progress on Vanessa, but she was already back to her old self.

* * *

**Ah man, so close! Who would'a thunk it? Vanessa actually had fun?! Unbelievable!**

**Anyway, how about some more QAA! :DDD**

**To Norman and Lizzy: How do you feel about your son and daughter now surviving in Minecraft?**

Norman: I knew it! I knew that this day would come! This is all the Glitch's doing, I just know it!

Lizzy: W-we hoped that the third chapter w-wouldn't have been destined for either Mark or Vanessa, but we were blind, because now they're alone in Minecraft! Why, Glitch, you monster?!

**To the mutated bed from Chapter 4: Here is a translator device. *straps round pillow* There! Now we can understand you!**

The mutated bed from Chapter 4: Yah yah, it's naht lahke anybahdy would wanna undahstahnd meh anywah. I jahst wanna be ahccahpted intah sahciety ahnd save deh kittahns.

**To Mickey: How do you get on with the redstone bugs from April Fools?**

Mickey: We silverfish find players' redstone creations, eat redstone, mess up wiring, it fun. The redstone even tastes like strawberries. :3 *goes off to have a redstone-themed feast with his fellow silverfish*

**To Bonbon: Is Butterball your dad/mom?**

Bonbon: Oh yes Butterball is my daddy! I luv him soooooooooooooooo much I hug him every day! Um, I try, but I don't... Have arms... *sighs*

**To Norman: Did you know that Bailey has a son named Lucas and that Vanessa is with him, but separated from Mark?**

Norman: Bailey has a son? Well, good for her. Tell me EVERYTHING you know about Mark and Vanessa! I MUST KNOW FOR THEIR SAFETY!

**To Kelsey: No secrets I'll give you an enchanted diamond pickaxe in three chapters if you tell us if you like Mark. [If you do I'll put it in the treetops.] It has Silk Touch and Unbreaking VIII.**

Kelsey: Er, well, this is kind of hard to explain... Um... Tell you what, I promise that you DO find out later in the story, just hold your horses until then, alright? Good. ;D

**Well then, now that they've escaped the suddenly-appeared bony clutches of the Grief Squad and their leader Jenx, where will the Master Compass lead them next? Will they just keep running into even MORE trouble? Find out next chapter in VOiD!**

**But for now, this is Pastrinator64, and I'll see you later with chapter numbah nine!**

***throws sugar bomb, disappears in a cloud of fine white sugar***

**Byyyyyeeeeee...**

**~Pastrinator64 [~]**


	9. Chapter 9: Higher Expectations

**Hello, this is Pastrinator64 with yet another, repeat, another chapter from VOiD. I apologize for the delay, I don't usually take this long, but I've been distracted by the Swords And Sandals franchise lately. Plus, my internet was down and crap yesterday and the day before. -_- If you've never played a game from the Swords and Sandals franchise, then I deeply recommend it to you. :D Anyway, now for my replies to reviews!**

Replies To Reviews...

**Somebody10101: **Thanks, I personally enjoy Eragariss, don't you? I'm thinking about having him and Brizarg appearing later in the story.

**Enderwolf: **Yah! *brofist and brofive* Fo sure, brother! XD Yeah, I was wondering how Vanessa would defend herself, that seemed like a great solution. I'll think about putting in the Poptart mod sometime, yeah.

**BfheadGamer: **BREAKING THE FOURTH WALL FTW!

**Kyle McShade: **You... Work with code? That's so awesome. I wish I could try that; maybe you could give me lessons sometime!

**Enderdude: **Sorry dude, it's just wordplay. You know, I was making a reference to the name Geek Squad. Heard of them? You know the computer nerd group that's involved with Best Buy? Yeah, those guys.

**Guest: **Is that your mouth open in utter shock of this chapter's epicness?

**Guest: **Welcome to which troop?

**Now then, that's all said and done, so let's get on with the story you've been waiting patiently for!**

**Hello, this is Pastrinator64 with another chapter from VOiD. Last time on VOiD we watched as Mark and his friends were captured by a nefarious band of griefers named the Grief Squad (heh heh I love wordplay). During the battle with the leader (Jenx) and his associates, Vanessa was zapped by the evil—but nevertheless stupid—sorcerer Eragariss, but the power was absorbed into her book "Moby Dick", letting her transform it into whatever weapon she chose. After defeating the Grief Squad and their leader, Mark found out that Vanessa actually had fun, REAL fun, for the first time in years, but unfortunately, she was still not able to admit it. Now we watch from many different views, seeing how different key characters are handling life at the moment in time, and as we come to Mark and the gang, we watch as they get a visit from an extremely important individual.**

**Now, let the story commence!**

* * *

_Chapter 9: Higher Expectations_

Meanwhile, the Glitch was exploring its newly taken castle. It'd tried to go out with its virus army to explore the Minecraft world, but for some reason there was no trace left of the Balance Core. Infuriated, the Glitch fled back down deep into The Void and entered the Void Palace, which it believed to be in better use already compared to how Salutem used it. The Glitch slithered around through the formal dining room, its gargantuan red mouth curled up slightly into a grin. This is where it had its fight with Salutem, but considering it was double-scythe vs bludgeon, the Glitch won in an instant.

_"Ben, has the castle been completely searched of any life besides my viruses and I?"_ it asked, turning to Salutem's former right-hand man—the now enslaved virus—Ben.

Ben slowly bowed, spreading its darkening wings to either side.

"Yes, Lord Glitch." he muttered reluctantly, grumbling under its breath. "The rest of Salutem's virus-protection programs have been turned back into viruses."

_"Good... Now that that is done, we must focus on a new priority. I am going to send a large group of my best viruses deeper into The Void to search for Salutem. If I am to gain my full power once again, I must take over Salutem and merge with it, only then will I return to my greatest form as I had twenty years ago."_

* * *

Meanwhile, Salutem was still on Buenomalo deep inside The Void. It had watched as night fell and everything around would mutate, and it was horrified. It was very early in the morning, so the sun hadn't risen, and as Salutem passed a mutating flower that shot fire at it, it said,

"I created this planet as a safe-haven; this is not how I expected to see it next."

Salutem slithered through the mutated landscape, and thankfully, whatever its white plasma touched would return to normal from the curing programs inside. Salutem thought that maybe it could be a way to restore Buenomalo to its former glory, but then again, the Glitch probably mutated all of its army, and there was no way Salutem would be able to cure the entire planet by itself.

All of a sudden, there was a screech from above, and Salutem dived into the trees below without looking. Once hidden in the trees, it looked up into the sky and saw a fleet of black plasma masses flying in. They were after Salutem.

"Oh no... This is too soon." whispered Salutem.

As the viruses above flew overhead, Salutem sank into the ground to remain hidden. Hissing noises came from above, and Salutem heard this,

_"The cured trail ends here... It's fresh, too. Lord Glitch said to exterminate Salutem, and if I am correct, Salutem is nearby, so we'll be able to fulfill the mission quickly. Let's find the rest of that trail!"_

The viruses above shuffled away, their hissing and buzzing fading away until it was gone. Salutem was too close; there was only one way to get away, though it didn't like the idea...

* * *

Norman and Lizzy ran across the clean tile of the airport. They were going to miss their flight if they didn't hurry. Lizzy had become a environmental activist in the means of occupations, so she had no problem running long distances—she liked to remain fit at all times. Unfortunately for Norman, it'd been twenty whole years since he'd become athletic in the Minecraft Dimension, and wasn't exactly the fastest person in the world, so they had a problem.

Thankfully, they didn't need any bags, just a couple of packed meals for the plane trip. They were going to visit an old friend of theirs in New York, New York. His name was Professor Explotar. Professor Explotar was the person who had accidently created the Glitch from the past, but also the one who absorbed the two Glitches from past and present—or at least what was the present at the time. He was the only other person on Earth who knew of their connection with the world of Minecraft. He might, just might be able to get them back through.

Finally, they reached the stewardess at the gate, who was startled by their running approach. Norman handed her the two tickets, said thanks as courtesy, and then rushed through the door with his wife in hand before the lady could ask questions. They walked down a glass hallway that was among a couple hundred other glass tubes in the building, a transparent maze, for a while, following the signs to their plane. Once they reached the end of the tube they stepped through the door to their plane. It was really more like a jet—being rich and all, they got first-class service on a private aircraft.

Norman and Lizzy walked around in the jet, which was large enough to act as an entire luxury home. Before they could really walk around, they'd have to buckle up for the ascent, so the two of them sat down near the front of the jet in the reclining leather seats, buckling their seatbelts. They didn't have to wait for anyone, of course, so as soon as they had clearance to take off they flew into the air with their expert pilot. Now all they had to do was wait for the plane ride to be over.

Norman and Lizzy got out of their seats once the pilot announced that it was safe, and they both headed over to the pool room. Yeah, they had a freaking awesome pool room IN THE JET. Inside was a forty foot-long pool and large hot tubs on either side. Classical music played from the speakers in the back, casting a soothing mood over the room. They both headed over to the hot tub on the right. They didn't have swimwear, they were just in shorts and T-shirts, so they just sank into the water in what they were wearing. They'd be able to dry off extremely quick once they were back in Minecraft, so it didn't really matter; they just needed some time to relax from their recent ordeals.

They immediately began to talk.

"Norman, I'm afraid for Mark and Vanessa's lives." murmured Liz, dipping all but her head into the warm water.

Norman sighed and put a hand on her back, caressing in a comforting way.

"Yeah, if I had known the Glitch would go to the extent of taking our kids, I'd have personally kicked its giant shadowy ass."

Liz gave a weak smile, but it was almost immediately replaced with a frown.

"But how did the Glitch take away Mark and Vanessa if it's been in The Void for twenty years? I thought we sealed it up for good."

Norman scowled and muttered,

"I have no idea," he started to drum his wet fingers on the tile next to him. "Professor Explotar said that the E.S.C. supercomputer was foolproof. I guess not..."

There was a silence, but then Lizzy spoke again.

"Well, now I'm just worried what will happen if we can't find Mark and Vanessa and bring them both back. Doctor Manstriff doesn't know any of this, he thinks that their comas will keep them unconscious possibly forever, he doesn't know where the wounds are coming from that appear and disappear at random. He has no idea they're still alert and awake in the game, if he even somehow knows what the game is. If he takes them off of life support, Mark and Vanessa will never be able to come back to Earth, they'd be stuck as Minecraftians forever!"

Norman shushed her quietly and put a finger to her lip, then brushed a bunch of frizzy red hair away from her face.

"Liz, we'll find them and bring them back. I know that the E.S.C. wasn't able to contain the Glitch forever, but Professor Explotar still is a professional, he'll be able to help us find them somehow. We just... We just need to relax for now, you and I have both been through a lot lately, we deserve to kick back for a while. We have a whole 2,905 miles to cover before we reach Berlin, we might as well enjoy the hours we have alone."

Liz put on another smile, but this one was genuine this time. She leaned forward, wrapping her arms around Norman, and kissed him.

"Norman, I love you."

"I love you too, Liz."

* * *

The morning after Mark and the gang were kidnapped by the Grief Squad, everyone awoke early. They were ready to get going and be done with this tiring adventure quick. Unfortunately, it was a very cold morning, because Chiller Manor was very... Chilly. Mark was shivering when he woke up, reluctant to leave his covers. He saw others already up and getting ready to leave, so he too rose out of bed to prepare for when they actually left.

As Mark was punching away his bed he heard Mickey's tiny little yawn inside his head, and the small silverfish crawled up from out of a crack in the zipper to poke his head out and look around.

_"Good morning, Master Cobweb."_

"Mornin' Mickey." he muttered tiredly.

Nobody really talked much; the atmosphere seemed muffled by the chill, making it hard to feel cheerful much. Mark rummaged through the food chest nearby, mumbling about lack of sleep, and pulled out a porkchop and a loaf of bread. He tore the loaf in half and wedged the porkchop in the middle, and he sat down on his bed to eat his sandwich. As he was eating he thought about his mom's home cooking, which made his stomach moan. Thinking of his mom made his throat tighten, and tears started to form in the corners of his eyes. Through blurry vision he saw Adrian approaching and blinked rapidly so he wouldn't notice any tears. Adrian held out a stick in one hand and in the other the iron frying pan that he called his weapon. Mark was immediately overwhelmed by the smell of eggs. Sizzling in the pan were three large fried eggs, light and fluffy and looking to die for. Mark put down his sandwich and took the frying pan and the stick.

"Thanks," he mumbled, spearing an egg with his stick. "I needed something besides meat and bread."

Adrian grinned and tipped his cowboy hat.

"Yer welcome, partner."

Mark smiled and rolled his eyes at the accent. Adrian tapped the rim of the frying pan and added,

"Yeah, it's not a problem at all. I can get as many chickens as I want as long as I've got that infinite seed supply."

As Adrian was walking away Mark stopped with the speared egg almost to his mouth. Adrian only walked three steps when Mark stood up and stopped him, turning him around.

"Wait," he said, eyeing Adrian suspiciously. "You've got an infinite supply of seeds?"

Adrian nodded and said,

"Well, grass is my Block power."

Mark stared at him for about five seconds.

"Your what?"

Adrian rolled his eyes and said,

"You know, the Block power that you get when you turn fourteen? Really? You have no clue? Here, I'll show you."

Adrian turned to his right and made a big show of waving his hands at the stone block next to him like he was going to place a block, only without anything in his hand to use. All of a sudden, many stalks of grass appeared from nowhere, right on the stone, no dirt required. Mark gawked at the grass grown from the stone and muttered,

"Wha...?"

Adrian grinned wider at the sight of Mark's amazement, and he started pointing all around the room, making grass appear wherever he aimed his hands. Mark started laughing, his hand to his forehead. It was amazing what he was seeing, he'd never seen anyone do that, it was the stuff of game-hacking. His and Adrian's amusement only last about ten seconds when Adrian pointed in the wrong direction at the wrong time, because a bundle of grass grew up from the top of Gabe's head—he'd been walking over to see what was going on. Gabe yelled out and clutched his head, tugging at the grass growing out of his scalp. This attracted both Vanessa and Kelsey, who swarmed Gabe concernedly, trying to help him with whatever the heck just happened. Lucas also jumped up, trying to grab the grass and get a handful of it. It was sheer chaos, and both Mark and Adrian burst out laughing at the sight of Vanessa and Kelsey swarming Gabe.

It didn't last long, because Rexum came in the room about ten seconds later through the entrance doors to the throne room, his green robes swiveling back and forth, his misty eyes glaring icily at the scene before him. Apparently, he'd been meditating outside in the quiet and had heard the uproar. He pushed past the laughing Mark and Adrian and raised his golden oak staff up to tap Gabe on the head. The grass blackened, shriveling away from his scalp, and his two female admirers and the overexcited Lucas stopped swarming him. There was a silence as Rexum cast his disapproving look around the group. He stared at them, and they stared at him. Finally, he spoke.

"Young people... So loud..."

Muttering to himself, Rexum left the room through the large dark doors again. Everyone exchanged looks, and it didn't take long for them to start laughing again—except Vanessa and Gabe, of course. After a few seconds they quieted down again and Mark shook his head with a smile, saying,

"Man, Rexum can be the coolest wizard of all time, but his mind's still wired like an oldie."

Vanessa cast her own disapproving look at Mark, her mouth in a frown.

"Yes, well, as a human being gets older the chemicals in their brain begin to break away over time, which can cause—"

Mark held a hand up to stop her.

"Here's what I hear: Blah, blah, blah, science, science."

Lucas chimed in with,

"Yeah, you could MARRY Rexum, you two have so much in common! You both hate noise and fun!"

Bonbon must understand jokes, because she started hissing, her usually droopy Creeper face curling up into a smile. Vanessa stormed away, probably out to join Rexum in the quiet outdoors. As everyone calmed down and walked back to their own activities, Adrian turned to Mark and said,

"Yeah, that happens sometimes. I've done it to myself before; it takes a whole month to shrivel away. Here, since you obviously don't know what Block powers are, I'll explain." he and Mark sat down on the stone floor as he launched into his explanation. "Basically, at the age of ten you go into a school to learn about the world of Minecraft and what's what. After four years you have a final exam that tests you on everything you learned. Your scores determine what Block power you receive. Minecraftians are divided into five groups: Veyacrafts, Dungeoneers, Oddblocks, Mobwhisperers, and the Groupless. Veyacrafts and Dungeoneers are the most common. Veyacrafts are people like farmers and miners, ones who like to prosper, and not just survive, but THRIVE! Dungeoneers are like the warriors of the Minecraft Dimension; they defend this world from hostile mobs and stuff, and if you're really good you can get into Notch's army called the Slayers. Oddblocks are usually rare, and definitely unlucky to be put into. If you become an Oddblock that means you got a Block power from a block that's not useful in the other two categories, like Cobweb powers or Dragon Egg powers—you're dad had Cobweb powers, and I think he had a friend with the power of Dragon Egg. Oddblocks basically get jobs no one else wants."

"How'd you know that my dad had Cobweb powers? That's just our last name."

"You're dad—and mom—are legends, everyone knows that. He didn't use his powers much, I heard. Your mom had the Block power of Cake, so she was a Veyacraft. Anyway, back to the explanation. Mobwhisperers are the rarest of all, they've got the power to communicate with mobs. I believe your friend Lucas's mom is a Creeperwhisperer. I dunno if Lucas is, though. Just an example, if you can hear that silverfish of yours you'd be called a Silverfishwhisperer." Mark silently agreed with himself to tell Adrian later that he really could talk to Mickey.

"Pfft, creative name, yeah right." scoffed Adrian, as he was shifting his cowboy hat into a different position. "Anyway, what you REALLY want to avoid being put in the last category, which really isn't a category at all. If by some chance you fail the final exam or just get really, really bad luck, you receive a Block power featuring a block that was never implemented by Notch into this world, or a block that was removed and no longer exists. The Groupless usually don't belong in society, they're left in the dust. I myself got the Block power of Tall Grass, so like I said before, I've got an unlimited supply of seeds, technically. It still costs me energy, but I'm just sayin'."

The rest of the morning continued on as it was before, gloomy and cold and most of all boring. Around noon they all took up their stuff and walked outside to find Rexum and Vanessa, talking about all the FACTS of life they find interesting.

"You know, I have always wanted to learn the full history of the creation of dimensions, and how different it compares between the view of it by humankind and the people inside each one, if there really are other life forms existing besides on Earth. I'm sure it would be enriching, don't you think?" Vanessa murmured, her eyes wide like they get when she's learning something.

Rexum smiled and replied,

"Well, I am very glad that you have chosen to live a life of knowledge. Education these days seems to scarcely exist in the perfect way it once was, what with all those hoodlums who promote the media."

Mark and Adrian stifled their laughter as they were passing by; it was completely ridiculous to them. Adrian whispered to Mark, saying,

"I hated school back on Earth; all ya had to do was READ and THINK. And LEARN! Ugh, the fact that yer sister over thar is so entranced by tha' kinda stuff is a bit sickenin, partner."

Mark nodded and muttered,

"Welcome to my world."

Another half an hour of boring academic conversations later, Rexum and Vanessa stopped talking to let Mark step up in front of everyone to announce their next plans.

"Alrighty, well, um... Now that we've, um, gotten free, um, from those cloaked guys... Er, we can keep following the, uh, Master Compass. So, let's go."

His announcement wasn't the best, but it sufficed. Once Gabe had come back from Chiller Manor after retrieving Felix they headed off again, and Mark took out the Master Compass to guide them once more. They walked east for a while, stopping to rest every hour. Mark and Adrian talked a lot, laughing with each other for a lot of the trip, making stupid jokes. At one point around 4:00 in the afternoon Kelsey came over to see what was so funny, and she came in upon the two guys when they were exchanging tons of anti-jokes.

"Hey, why'd the little kid drop his ice cream cone?" asked Mark.

"Why?"

"Cuz' he got hit by a bus!"

They both laughed, and Adrian even slapped his knee. Adrian caught his breath a few seconds later and said,

"Why did little Jimmy get a cut on his finger?"

"Why?"

"Cuz' he fell in the woodchipper!"

They continued laughing aloud, but a few seconds later Mark grunted when he felt a punch on the arm, and looked up to see Kelsey standing there, her hands on her hips.

"Guys, that's mean!"

"No, it's hilarious!"

Kelsey muttered something before walking away from them. They continued to give each other their jokes for a while, and soon they were both tired from laughing, especially Mark, who fell over in hysterics from one of Adrian's really good jokes. Another couple hours later the sun began to set, so they all stopped to set up camp. Rexum set down the Eyestone again for their protection. Thankfully, there were trees nearby, so Gabe was able to go and take a pee. As Gabe was heading into the woods nearby Lucas found Mark setting up his bed and pointed him out.

"Hey, I wonder how Gabe got the Human Waste mod on his hands!"

Mark snapped his head up with a disgusted look on his face.

"Ugh, I didn't know there was such a thing. Why would anyone WANT that? Isn't it better that no one has to go?"

Lucas shrugged, setting up his bed next to Mark's. Vanessa came over a few moments later with her bed and set it down on Mark's other side. She sat down and tapped Mark's shoulder, then pointed to Gabe disappearing into the trees.

"That Gabe guy is kinda cute, don't you think?"

Mark's eyes were wide, his eyebrows raised in surprise.

"You... You think he's cute? You're attracted to him?" he slapped her on the back and gave a chuckle. "Man, this is great! You're actually attempting to be social!" Vanessa was still looking out into the woods when Mark realized something and said, "Oh man, but, um, Kelsey is attracted to him too, you know. Plus, she's... Um..."

Vanessa turned to look at him and said,

"What? What has she got that I don't? A spotless face? Slim body? BREASTS?! Well?!"

Thankfully, Mark was saved from the wrath of Vanessa the next moment, because Rexum quick bolted towards him, knocked Vanessa and Lucas out of the way, and tackled him from his bed, landing them three blocks away from where he was before. Mark coughed out grass and dirt and pushed Rexum off of him.

"What now?! Oh, what in the name of... What...?"

Where his, Vanessa's and Lucas's beds used to be was a small crater, smoke pouring out of it. Adrian came over to see what was going on too, and what they all saw rise up from the smoke was all-too familiar. It was the Glitch, its gigantic shifting plasma mass moving this way and that, its wings outstretched. Hold on, this Glitch was actually giving off a bright white light. It was white! And its eyes and mouth weren't magma-red but instead a calming blue color. The strange version of the Glitch bowed, its wings turning to fold together.

"Hello, Ultra Hero and Great Heroes of the third chapter of the Divination of Dimensions. I am Salutem, ruler of The Void, king of the Void Palace, fourth ruler of Minecraftia."

Everyone stood transfixed at the sight before them. No one ever would have expected to meet Salutem in purpose. Salutem turned to look directly at Mark, and he said,

"Hello especially to you, Markus Cobweb, Ultra Hero of the third chapter of the Divination of Dimensions. I have come for a very important reason, but I must make this quick, for I am completely exposed to the Glitch's viruses while I am visible." Nobody said a word, some of them were even afraid they'd be turned into chickens by some of Salutem's voodoo. "I must inform you that this quest that you must fulfill has more pieces to it than you have been told. Yes, you must use the Master Compass to guide you to the Void Transport, guiding you to the Void Palace, and finally guiding you up to the Aether Palace where you will place the Balance Core on its pedestal. But, have you any way of getting the Balance Core from out of the bottle you carry? Surely, by now you must have realized that ordinary means will not work to break the near-invincible glass that protects the block." Mark's stomach lurched as he realized that what Salutem was saying was true.

"You see, when the Balance Core was created by the ancient Mastermind, it was sealed inside a glass bottle made from the concentrated energy of Notch's power, only to be broken by one weapon, and one weapon only: the Hammer of Notch. You must obtain the Hammer of Notch in order to break it open.

"Secondly, how do you suppose you will be able to handle the block? In order to place a block, even the Balance Core, you must hold it in your hand and gesture at the area you want it to be placed. The Balance Core is an extremely powerful block, the most powerful of all, and the only ones who can touch it without being destroyed is the Mastermind, the one who created it. In order to handle such a block you would need the gloves of the Mastermind, which in history were named the Gloves of Gloom and Glad. They were crafted from the ancient essence of the Spirits In Between, who used the sadness and the happiness in their memories to give to the Mastermind, who crafted two gloves, one of black and one of white, so that in the future if the Balance Core were to ever be brought out from its bottle the Mastermind could once again touch his creation. But in order to keep the Gloves of Gloom and Glad safe, the Mastermind bonded to their powerful fabric of good and bad, and now they cannot come off.

"So, what you must do is recreate what the Mastermind did, and find the essences of sadness and happiness. The only place this essence can be found now is in the potent tears of the Glitch and I, the only bad and good essence-givers powerful enough for the job left in the universe. I will now weep for you, giving you a tear of happiness, then you must find the Glitch and steal a tear while remaining unnoticed. As individual tears, it is possible to hold them without being annihilated."

Salutem bent over, and they all watched as a glistening white tear dripped from the calming blue of its left eye. The teardrop was as big as Mark's hand. Salutem let it drip onto its wing, and then extended its wing out to Mark. He approached slowly, and then held out his left hand over the glistening white teardrop. It rose up and the cool wetness touched his hand—it actually felt like water. The teardrop let out a burst of light for a few seconds, and when it was gone Mark was now wearing a pure white glove on the hand, just like the one the Mastermind had on his nimble-fingered left hand. He flexed his hand, and the watery white glove moved with him, comfortably fit as though it were made especially for him. He looked up again at Salutem, who continued its monologue.

"So, what you truly must do is first reach the Void Transport using the Master Compass in your hand. Then, once you are inside the Void Palace you must steal both the Hammer of Notch and a black tear of sadness from the Glitch. The Glitch keeps all of its most powerful weapons in the secret treasure room beneath the throne. I built it myself, see, and if I know the Glitch—which I certainly due, considering that it and I have the same way of thought-processing, technically—it would have put the Hammer of Notch inside the treasure room for safety, but only if it has already stolen it. I am not sure if the Glitch has the Hammer of Notch, or if Notch has kept it protected, but you must obtain it either way.

"You should be able to find a black teardrop of sadness somewhere in the treasure room, because I myself give away tears of happiness every month to help others in the Minecraft Dimension, and since the Glitch has possessed everything of mine to be its own, there should be a collection of now-black teardrops hidden somewhere in the room. Once you get it you should be able to bring it around your hand into the second glove, then you will have both of the Gloves of Gloom and Glad. If the Hammer of Notch isn't there, then just take a teardrop with you.

"Once you have what you need, get into the room directly behind the throne, there will be a group of portals that were used for us rulers to visit each other through. The Glitch has stopped all connection with the Aether for now, so building a portal will not work. The only one left that still maintains connection is the one that the Glitch is using to send its viruses into the Aether. Please, I know that this all sounds extremely complicated, but you must do it! You are the only ones capable of defeating the Glitch once and for all!"

Suddenly, there was an unearthly screech in the distance, and Salutem whirled around to look in the direction of the screech.

"The viruses are following my trail, I must leave! Good luck, heroes!"

With that, Salutem sank down into the ground with a *POP* without another trace. Everyone just looked at each other for a moment, taking occasional glances towards the crater where Salutem was moments ago. Another few seconds of silence later, Gabe approached them, coming back out through the trees. When he caught sight of everyone looking at the crater, he said,

"What just happened here?"

Nobody really answered his question, but Mark thought to himself this,

_"Man... Just when I thought it couldn't get any harder... Well, I guess that we'll have to prepare to sneak past the Glitch, which, as far as I can tell, will NOT be as easy as expected."_

* * *

**Awesome! It definitely looks like someone has befriended Mark for sure, right? Who doesn't love the western kid? Plus, FIRST LOVE TRIANGLE! I'm pretty sure Vanessa is WAY out of Gabe's league. That doesn't mean she won't stop trying, though.**

**Now then, MORE QAA!**

**To the Glitch: I'm okay with that. Lily and Norman are goody-goody. I like the idea of ruling the universe. It's a good idea so I support it.**

The Glitch: Ah yes! I finally have some support! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I shall recruit you ASAP!

**To Quinn: Where are you right now? Norman's son might need some help from you:**

Quinn: Hey, I'm just hanging out in the Author's mind right now, in that empty void of sub-conscious thought. Yep, I came out of his brain, and now I'm back again! *fourth wall shatters, sending a shard of its nonexistent dimensional fabric into Quinn's eye* Owie!

**To Norman or Notch (whoever who can answer better): What happened to the magnet block thingy?**

Norman: You mean the Magnomatic I got from Book #1? *fourth wall shatters once again, and the Fourth Wall Repairman comes in grumbling about his job to fix it for the billionth time with his magical Wall Hammer* Actually, it's kinda complicated, but all of the items from Book #1 are stored where my friend Quinn is right now, in the Author's subconscious, only to be brought out when the Author chooses to put them into the story. Trust me, the Magnomatic WILL make a reappearance later.

Notch: I agree with Mr. Cobweb here, the Author has stored it in his subconscious thoughts. Simple enough, right? *fourth wall rumbles dangerously as the Fourth Wall Repairman is fixing it with his Wall Hammer*

**To Norman: No I will not tell you anything about Mark. Vanessa turned her book into a weapon, though.**

Norman: You... I need info, kid! Give me anything you've got! And what do you mean she turned her book into a weapon?

**To Vanessa: Did you actually have fun when fighting with "Moby Dick"?**

Vanessa: Er, no... *avoids your gaze* No, definitely... Not... Now shush, I, have to meet with Gabe... Goodbye... *walks away to go swoon over Gabe's chiseled face*

**To the Glitch: Die! I shall conquer even you with my army of flying monkeys! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I EVEN STOLE YOUR LAUGH!** **MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA HA!**

The Glitch: LIES, FOOLISH FOOL! I am the greatest evil being these dimensions have ever known! I SHALL DESTROY YOU WITH MY NONEXISTENT EYEBROWS, THAT'S JUST HOW SKILLED I AM! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

**To the Glitch: Get a life.**

The Glitch: No, not ever! I am the OPPOSITE of life, you twit! I am WORSE THAN DEATH! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! CRUMBLE DOWN, YOU PEASANT!

**To Patrick Obsidian: Are you alive, and if so, where?**

Patrick: Oh yeah! Right now I'm playing ping-pong with Quinn inside of the Author's—*Fourth Wall Repairman steps in and screams, "DON'T SAY IT! This fourth wall here is unstable, and EVERYBODY keeps blowing it to pieces by talking about the Author! Keep quiet until I'm done!" harrumphs and walks back to working on the fourth wall with his Wall Hammer* Okay, geez! That guy has issues.

**Alrighty then! I feel sorry for the Fourth Wall Repairman! Anyway, for next time, how will things get along between Vanessa and Kelsey now that they both are in love with Gabe? Is bitterness ensured? (Heck yeah!) How will Mark get along as friends? Will EVERYONE just get along somehow, will we ALL just give out world peace and play Pass the Parcel? (That's a reference to a question I got a few chapters ago. ;D) Plus, now that they know that there are two extra pieces of their quest they need to find, will they still be able to save all the dimensions from the Glitch's wrath in time? Find out next chapter in VOiD!**

**But for now, this is Pastrinator64, and I'll see you later with chapter numbah ten!**

***throws sugar bomb, disappears in a cloud of fine white sugar***

**Byyyyyeeeeee...**

**~Pastrinator64 [~]**


	10. Chapter 10: Affects Of Love

**Hello, this is Pastrinator64 with the tenth chapter from VOiD. Things really are heating up, aren't they? Friendships are strengthening, love triangles are forming, the plot is just now becoming clear... Amazing that we're still here after ten chapters, you guys have been great! :D Now then, let's get on with replies to reviews!**

Replies To Reviews...

**Somebody10101: **Yeah, it basically means if Notch still has the Hammer of Notch protected. If the Glitch hasn't taken it already then it wouldn't be in the treasure room. See what I meant?

**Kyle McShade: **Oh... I'm only a bit disappointed, but that's alright. It really would be cool if you could, like, put together and program code as you please. I'd be creating games left and right.

**CSICreeper: **For the love triangle between Mark, Kelsey and Gabe, Mark would have the Triforce of Lovesickness, Kelsey would have the Triforce of Cuteness, and Gabe would have the Triforce of Abs. Isn't that how it goes? XD

**Guest: **Why thank you. :) I think Vanessa will eventually find a way to get rid of her, she'd for sure do something like that.

**Guest: **Dwarf Fortress? You mean like those guys in the huge cavern from the MC song "Diggy Diggy Hole"? I luv those guys!

**Guest: **Cool, but what size font? It should be size fourteen or less.

**BfheadGamer: **I'm just waiting for someone to ask the Fourth Wall Repairman a question. That'll be great when it happens. :D

**Guest: **Maybe. Maybe, just maybe, if I feel like it. They'll be mentioned later on, I'm sure.

**Guest: **I don't want to make things TOO easy, now do I?

**JumpingJacks1357: **Oh yeah, the relationship of Kelsey and Mark is confusing right now, but everything will be explained in the future, I promise. And also, if you could just PM me, I'd like to know what you thought of The Glitch, or at least, if you have an account and you can PM me. If not, just put it at the end of your review or something, because I really am curious.

**Enderwolf: ***bends down and scratches behind Void's ear* Cute dog, Enderwolf! ;D Yeah, Mark and all those guys have block powers, a couple of them get revealed in this chapter.

**dadmitch1: **There'll be plenty of action later on, I assure you! :)

**UnknownDubstep: **Oh, Pastrinator64 (me) will be starring in a chapter-long mini-adventure at the end of the book with his four friends. (They were chosen in the beginning of the book, I just chose all of my greatest fans.)

**Alright! That's the most I've ever had to answer! Now, let's get on with the story!**

**Hello, this is Pastrinator64 with another chapter from VOiD. Last time on VOiD we watched as Mark and his friends stayed in Chiller Manor for the morning, but then left the next hour. They walked for hours at a time, but Mark had a great time joking with Adrian, and their relationship only strengthened. Then they stopped at the end of the day to rest. That night they received a surprise visit from Salutem, who informed them of two new objectives they would have to fulfill in order to get the Balance Core back onto its pedestal, of which include stealing the Hammer of Notch and a single black tear of sadness from the Glitch. Now that they know exactly how tough the road will be, they now decide that it is best to rest up for a week. We watch as they set up their new home, and Mark attempts to set up his own relationship with Kelsey.**

**Now, let the story commence!**

* * *

_Chapter 10: Affects Of Love_

The next morning after Salutem's strange appearance the group decided to stay and rest for a few days. They'd been walking and walking for almost a week with barely any rest-time. They still had plenty of wooden planks, so they first got to work on their new house right there in front of the forest first thing in the morning.

Mark handed out stacks of birch planks to Kelsey, Gabe, Lucas and Adrian, then a stack to himself. Rexum just sat to the side humming, sitting atop his Eyestone. Vanessa was sitting on top of her open book, which was still glowing with red, trying to copy Rexum. They only had so many stacks, but with the lot of them they'd make a house in no time. When he was done handing out planks he said,

"Alright, Lucas, you work on the foundation. Gabe and Adrian, you guys work on creating separate rooms inside the base that Lucas is building. Kelsey and I will work on the large fenced-in area for Felix and any future livestock."

Mark paired himself up with Kelsey on purpose, of course. He was confused very much on if she liked him or Gabe or both, because for some reason she seemed torn between them. As everyone got to work on the house Mark made a crafting table and set it nearby. Kelsey came over and said,

"We'll need some fences, of course."

Mark put his hand down to place his birch planks in the grid on the face of the crafting table, and so did Kelsey, resulting in an awkward moment where they touched hands, hers over his. Mark pulled his back a second later, his cheeks reddening, and then he quickly gestured to the 3x3 grid.

"Ladies first."

Kelsey was blushing, and she avoided his gaze. She placed down her planks, and then snapped her fingers, and the full stack split into two 32 block stacks, one above the other, creating sticks. Kelsey picked up sticks from the result-square until she was left with sixteen planks in each pile. Mark did the same thing once Kelsey removed her planks. Once they both had plenty of sticks they crafted enough fences to make a 10x10 pen perfect for keeping any animal. As they began to place blocks, Mark spoke to Kelsey, nervous, but still curious.

"So, what's YOUR block power? Adrian told me his, it's grass."

Kelsey looked up and smiled and little, making Mark blush even harder. She was so cute!

"I got the Block power of Ice, so my Minecraft name is Kelsey Ice. I never liked farming, so if I were like that Adrian with the last name Grass I'd be annoyed, because I might *shudder* have to become a farmer! On Earth my last name was Frey."

Mark laughed casually and said,

"Cool, I think I used to know someone with that last name."

She looked curiously at Mark for a few moments, but then lost the look and said,

"What's your Block power?"

Mark looked down embarrassedly and said,

"Er, I don't know. I just found out about Block powers from Adrian early this morning. I mean, my dad, you know, the FAMOUS Norman Cobweb, has that last name. I mean, so do I, so I must have Cobweb powers. How do I use them?"

Kelsey grinned and put the fence stack in her hand into the hotbar on her left arm and turned around to face the grass, so Mark followed her movement.

"Like this." she positioned her hands to be pointing towards the grass block in front of her. "It's real simple. All you do to place a block of your power is jerk your hand at the spot where you want it placed." she jerked her hand at the outlined block before her and a block of ice appeared sitting on top of it instantly. "To get rid of it without having to wait at all, you just do the opposite, and pull away from it." she pulled her hand back, and the ice block disappeared instantly. She turned back to Mark and said, "You can place and break blocks from any distance, actually, so there's no limit at all. Be careful, though, cuz' if you place or break too many blocks you'll get really tired. Got that all?"

Mark nodded, and so he tried it himself. He jerked his hand to the same place that Kelsey had created the ice. Suddenly, a cobweb block appeared out of thin air. Mark laughed a little, and then jerked his hand back, making it disappear.

"Cool!"

Mark turned towards their home and saw Gabe coming outside, and he threw out his hand, creating a cobweb at the top of the door. When Gabe walked outside he was stuck in the sticky webs and thrashed.

"Pthhhfbbleah!" he cried, much of the cobwebs blocking his view.

Kelsey punched Mark in the arm—the second time that day—and demanded,

"Get rid of the cobwebs, he obviously doesn't find it funny, Mark!"

Mark grinned at the sight of Gabe attempting to break the cobweb.

"It is kinda f—"

"No it's not, break the cobweb!"

Mark grumbled and said,

"Alright, I'll break it."

Mark took his time, pretending to shift his position to something more comfortable, yawning, but Kelsey looked like she was about to grab his hand for him, so he waved his hand at Gabe, and the cobweb disappeared. Gabe wiped his face off with his T-shirt sleeve.

"Bleck! Alright, who placed the cobweb?!"

Gabe's eyes fell on Mark, who smiled nervously, waving his hand. Gabe was about to come over and give Mark a good lecture about being more like the gentleman he strived to be, but Kelsey stepped between them and said to Gabe,

"Hey Gabe, I think Lucas needs something to do, can you help him out with that?"

Gabe paused for a moment, but then inclined his head in a nod and said,

"Anything for the kind lady."

He bent down and took Kelsey's delicate hand and kissed it, then let go the next instant to go off and find Lucas. Mark was fuming, and he became even angrier when he saw Kelsey blushing, a shy smile creeping up into her lips. She didn't speak to Mark again. The next thing Mark knew he could hear "You Can Get It If You Really Want It" by Jimmy Cliff began to play from out of nowhere. These random music outbursts were starting to get to Mark, mainly because he had no clue where they were coming from.

Then they built a door there near the edge of the pen with a block of birch planks above it, and Mark created two wooden buttons. It would be used to get in and out without letting animals free.

They turned to look at how their house was going. It was going well, Lucas was playing with Butterball nearby, apparently finished with his job, because there three blocks from the pen they built sat a decent 13x15x6 cabin with a door and ten windows, four on the left and right and one in the front and back. He looked up just in time to see Adrian falling off of the roof. He quickly sidestepped to avoid being crushed, and then bent down to grab Adrian's hand. Kelsey grabbed his other, and he was hoisted back up. As he was brushing the dirt off of his checkered blue shirt he looked at Mark and said,

"Sorry, partner, I'm not very balanced, see. Almost crushed ya there!"

"That's ok. So, how's the house going?" asked Mark.

Adrian led them towards the door near the front and replied,

"Oh yeah, I'll show ya."

Adrian pushed the door open, it creaking slightly as it went. They entered their new home, and Mark and Kelsey were pleasantly surprised. Their home was actually one big room, so Gabe and Adrian must've just been helping with the foundation along with Lucas instead of separate rooms. Mark liked the big open space better anyway.

Gabe was already inside; he busy setting up their beds along the left wall. Adrian got back to what he was doing before he fell off the roof, setting up a line of furnaces up against the other wall. Soft white carpet covered the floor as a bonus. Mark walked over to the long line of beds on the left wall and sat down on his, which was in the very middle. And, SCORE! His was next to Kelsey's! But then he noticed that Gabe would be to Kelsey's left, so his spirits fell instantly. (He could tell all this because Gabe had put signs above each bed with their names.) Then Lucas walked in through the door, squeezing through Mark and Kelsey. As Adrian was putting up a line of crafting tables about the furnaces Lucas walked over and started making some chests for them. He placed three large chests in the middle of the room.

Mark looked out the window, noticing the setting sun, and then said,

"Hey guys, the sun's setting, we should probably get Rexum and Vanessa in here. Also, Felix should get tied to the side of the house."

Gabe walked towards the door after placing the last bed.

"I'll take care of it."

Mark walked over to his bed in the middle and sat down on it, taking a big breath. They would be taking a week of rest to prepare for the next time they left. A week of rest sounded plenty good to Mark, who was seriously exhausted from the past weeks of nonstop-travel. About thirty seconds later Vanessa and Rexum walked in. Rexum had his green-robed arms pressed together, one on top of the other like he was about to do some kind of Zen activity. He spotted his bed at the other end of the room and said,

"I do not need a bed, at night I shall meditate on my Eyestone instead."

So they took down the sign above his bed, leaving it empty for anyone who they might happen to come across later. Gabe entered moments later and sat down on his own bed, and pretty much everybody else did the same. As Mark was lying down he noticed his shoes, which were battered and muddy. He didn't want to mess up the bed he'd be sleeping in for a week, so he took them off. His socks felt like they were made of cardboard, so he peeled them off his feet and threw them in a crusty heap at the foot of his bed. Lying on the bed he crossed his arms and stared up at the ceiling, not really thinking about anything, just being thankful for the upcoming rest week.

Rexum spoke up from the center of the room, and they all looked to see him standing on top of a chest in the middle of the room.

"Young ones, I will now explain what we will be doing in the following week. I have received a vision from the Spirits In Between, and it was quite vague, but from what I remember I know that they have ordered me to make sure we all get good rest for this week and that I should not force any of you to do anything whatsoever." they all went "YES!", and Mark turned to his right to slap Adrian's raised hand. "So, for this week you are free to do anything you choose for recreation." they all whooped and cheered (except for Gabe, who just sorta stared at Rexum with a frown).

"But," he raised a finger and cast a serious look, shushing everyone instantly. "I must say that near the finish of my vision, the Spirits In Between told me that it is most important that I restrict you from going into Whirlpool Alley, which is only fifty blocks from the shores of the nearby beach. It is an area of dangerous whirlpools, some of the most hazardous of them coming from the Whirlpool Mod itself. If I see any one of you go near Whirlpool Alley, I will have to relieve you of your privileges. If the Spirits In Between say that it is too dangerous, then I say it is as well... Good night." he walked to the corner of the room next to the door and placed his Eyestone, sitting on it the next moment.

As Rexum closed his eyes and got into his arm-fold Zen position, everyone exchanged looks. Adrian leaned over and whispered,

"Whadda ya suppose is in Whirlpool Alley?"

"I dunno, maybe a monster. Or maybe it's just the whirlpools that are dangerous." replied Mark.

"Or maybe it's a treasure that'll turn ya evil."

Suddenly, Rexum clapped his hands—his eyes still closed—and the torches lined up along the walls extinguished. Apparently, that meant they were supposed to shut up and rest up. Mark sighed and lay back down on his bed. He'd have a whole week to himself, so he still had that to look forward to.

* * *

While Mark was sleeping he had the most amazing dream he'd had in a long time.

He was sitting in his cabin on his bed; only the chests in the center of the room were gone, leaving a big, open, carpeted space. All of the furnaces were on, so it was very hot in the room. Suddenly, the door behind them opened and Kelsey walked in. She approached Mark and smiled, her green eyes bright with excitement.

"Hello, Kelsey." said Mark, standing up from his bed.

Kelsey kept smiling at him, showing off her perfect white teeth. Then she walked forward and put two hands on Mark's back, pulling close to him. They kissed, and Mark put his hands on her back, stroking her spine. She shivered with pleasure, and then leaned in again for them to kiss. Her hands moved to his ribcage, then down to his stomach. Her nimble fingers snaked up his shirt to his chest, caressing his skin loving passionately, his heartbeat thumping loud and clear. They both sank slowly to the ground, wrapped around each other, kissing with the most extreme fervor. Mark felt tingles go up his spine whenever his tongue would touch hers.

Soon they were lying on the floor making out hard, and Mark couldn't have asked for more. To himself he thought,

"Ohh, oh yeah... She's so perfect. This... Mmm, oh yeah, it feels great. She just feels good... Ooh, ohh..."

When Mark took a short breath in between their kisses he murmured,

"Kelsey I love you so much."

Kelsey hugged him closer, locking his lips to hers.

"Mmmhmm, me too. You're way better than Gabe could ever be; I just love you so much more..."

But then the next moment Kelsey let go of him and stood up. Mark looked up at her with pleading eyes, not wanting them to have to stop.

"Kelsey, don't go." he pleaded, giving her kisses down her leg until he was giving each of her toes big wet smooches.

Kelsey giggled a little when he did that, but yet she backed up again, this time quicker. Mark looked up at her and said,

"Is something wrong?" she was about to back up, but he moved forward and grabbed her leg with both hands. "Kelsey, don't go! I don't want you to! You have to stay, for me!

Suddenly Kelsey jerked backward with a disgusted look on her face and shouted,

"Mark! Wake up, dude, I'm not Kelsey!"

* * *

Mark awoke to reality the next moment. He was lying on the carpeted floor of the room. Standing in front of him was Lucas, who had the same disgusted look on his face. Mark looked down to notice his hands were clasped around Lucas's leg, so he quickly let go. Lucas backed up again just as Mark was figuring out what had just happened.

"Dude, you were talking to me like I was Kelsey! You must've been dreaming or something, because you were muttering nonstop in your bed, making out with your pillow. Then you rolled off and crawled towards me and started kissing my feet!" Mark looked down to see that Luca was wearing socks equally filthy to his, and his lips puckered up with disgust, so he started rubbing off his lips with his shirt to get the taste of sock from his mouth. "You must've REALLY been making out with Kelsey, like, HARD! Man, I wish I could do that some day!"

Mark jumped up and put a hand over Lucas's mouth to shush him. The last thing he needed was attention for a crazy love dream with Kelsey. But Adrian was already staring and grinning at him from his bed, on which he lay sideways to look at Mark.

"Hoo boy, yer one lovesick puppy, my friend!" he declared.

Mark shushed him too and hurriedly looked around for Kelsey. He saw her looking at him from the other side of the room, sliding some porkchops into a furnace for breakfast. A few seconds passed, and then she just smiled and turned back to her cooking breakfast. Mark was almost sure she had heard what Lucas shouted.

Mark looked from Lucas to Adrian, who were thankfully both keeping their mouths shut. He took Lucas by the shoulder and brought him towards Adrian so the three of them were close together.

"Ok, can you guys not tell everyone about my love dream with Kelsey? It'd mean the world to me; I'd just feel a lot less embarrassed if she didn't know. Or at least, if she doesn't already anyway."

The two of them nodded and went back to their own business. Mark paused for a few seconds, looking at Kelsey for a few more moments.

_"Man, what I wouldn't give to be back with her on that carpet. Her body felt so good..."_ he thought to himself, gazing longingly at her.

"Mark!"

Mark snapped out of his trance and turned to his left to see Gabe staring at him.

"Are you ok?"

He nodded and turned towards the window, muttering,

"Yeah, I'm fine."

He looked out the window at the forest to his left and the beach to his right. It was a nice quiet spot, and they would have a nice quiet week of recreation, undisturbed and death-free, hopefully. The morning went by pretty slow, people were just up, so everybody had a glossy look to their eyes—except for Lucas, who never seemed to get tired. Mark caught himself nodding off while eating some of Adrian's delicious fried eggs, because even its wonderful aroma couldn't keep him awake.

Once he was finished with his breakfast he sat down on his bed and wondered what the heck he wanted to do. Mostly he wanted to get out of the stuffiness of their new home, so he stood up, grabbing his filthy socks as he went to the door. He exited the house and walked to his right for another thirty or so block till he had reached the ocean. He threw his socks out there, knowing that he wasn't doing damage to the environment, and then walked back to the house to make new socks and shoes, Minecraft ones that wouldn't get all filthy.

He entered the house again and walked to the chests in the middle of the room, rummaging through them until he found four blocks of wool and four pieces of leather. He crafted a pair of both on their line of crafting tables. He slipped on the comfortable fabric of the socks, and then pulled up his new leather shoes. They looked brand new, so he was satisfied.

Mark looked around at everyone, all of which were minding their own business. He knew that he could do anything he wanted now, so he walked back outside. He planned on exploring the forest nearby for anything interesting. He pushed the door open, making it creak like it always did, and stepped back into the fresh morning air. He turned to his left this time, moving towards the forest. He entered the trees and began to smile as he admired the beauty of it all. He walked through the trees for fifteen or so minutes before sitting down by a stream. He took in a deep breath of clean air, and then sighed it back out, looking around at the landscape.

He felt something nudge his elbow and he turned to see a little piglet nuzzling him with its little wet nose. The piglet oinked and kept bumping into his arm, and he smiled, patting the piglet's head. Then another two little pigs scuttled out from the trees towards him. He was suddenly reminded of his first time when he landed on Buenomalo after entering that portal. It seemed so long ago, yet it had only been three weeks.

Then the mother and father pigs came from the trees and oinked for their children to come back, so the little pigs all nudged Mark one more time before going back. Mark heard Mickey slither out of his Blockpack, and he saw Mickey slither up to the mother and father, hissing. The pigs oinked back like they were communicating, and after a few seconds of exchanging animal sounds Mickey turned to look up at Mark.

_"Master Cobweb, these pigs recognize you, they say they meet you weeks ago and you were on ground when they saw. Do you recognize?"_

Mark got down on a knee and patted both the parent pigs' heads.

"Yeah, I do remember. Did you follow me or something?" both the pigs oinked, and Mark wasn't sure if that meant they understood or what, but instead he said,

"Alright, I'm gonna bring you guys back to our house, you and your piglets will be taken care of well." he tapped the head of the father pig and said, "You're Mr. Pig," then he tapped the mother pig and said, "And you're Mrs. Pig." he looked down at the three piglets that were sitting and looking at him attentively. In turn he pointed to them, saying, "You three are Almond, Pistachio, and Peanut, cuz' you're all NUTS!"

Mark's loud outburst excited the piglets and they all jumped onto his lap, squealing high pitched in their excitement. He laughed and pet each one of them, and then all of a sudden Pistachio turned around and saw someone coming through the trees, and he squealed in fright instead of excitement, running behind his parents, who also backed up when they saw the figure. Almond and Peanut scuttled behind their parents too, squealing with fright.

Lucas came through the trees, and when he saw Mark he walked forward. The pigs started squealing louder, apparently afraid of him.

"Hey Mark!" he turned to see the pigs, and both the parents let out a grumbling/warning noise.

He pointed at the pigs and said,

"What's wrong with them?"

Then Bonbon came through the trees and gave a Creeper-smile, hissing in a friendly way. The pigs were still scared to death, all five of them backing away from what appeared to be Bonbon.

"I'm sure they just sensed a Creeper was coming and knew she was dangerous."

Lucas grinned and scratched the top of Bonbon's head, and she snuggled up against Lucas.

"Aw, she's not dangerous unless you scare her, are you? Huh? Huh girl?"

Bonbon started thumping one of her little green feet like she was really enjoying it. Mark felt as though his space was being intruding upon, so he stood up and said,

"Hey, Lucas? Can I just have a walk by myself through the woods, if that's alright?"

Lucas paused for a bit, looking disappointed, and then said,

"Suit yourself."

Mark thought he heard Lucas whisper "dang" under his breath, but he didn't think too much about it. He looked down at Mr. and Mrs. Pig. They looked up at him and squealed again, almost like some kind of warning. Mickey was still sitting next to them, and he turned his little head to stare up at Mark.

_"The pigs tell you stay away from boy, he dangerous. I sense it too, I do not like boy. He scary..."_

"Mickey, it's just Lucas! They probably haven't met too many people. Plus, he had Bonbon with him, so that probably just added to their fear. C'mon, I'm gonna take 'em back to our house and give them a place to sleep and everything." said Mark.

_"Alright, but Master please watch out for boy."_

Mark rolled his eyes, let Mickey crawl back up his leg to get onto the Blockpack and crawl inside. Then he slapped his thigh to motion for the pig family to come. They followed him, the babies especially with excitement, until they exited the trees. Mark saw his house only twenty blocks away, so he led them towards it. When they got to the door, Mark noticed that Pistachio was shaking nervously. He seemed to be the nervous one of the group. Mark patted his head and said,

"It's ok; my friend's are all really nice! Oh! I just remembered, you guys will really like Kelsey, she's in love with animals."

Peanut charged forward and bonked his head on the door, trying to get it open. He was the adventurous one. Mark laughed a bit and opened the door, let the piglets and their parents scuttle in. As soon as Kelsey heard an oink she looked up and saw the piglets coming towards her. She squealed and bent down picking all three up into her arms.

"Awwwwww, they're so CUUUUUUUUTE!" she looked up at Mark and said, "Where'd you find them?"

"By the creek in the forest. I've seen them before, I met them when I first landed on Buenomalo." answered Mark.

Mr. and Mrs. Pig cautiously approached Kelsey, but she didn't hesitate, and he held out pieces of her bread for them to munch on. The piglets kept attempting to jump up and grab the pieces before she dropped them, which Kelsey thought was just adorable, so she just dropped the whole loaf for them.

Mark went over to a chest and found some pieces of blue wool, which used to place a 3x3 area into the floor in the corner of the room. The pigs could sleep comfortably over there.

Then he went back and sat back down on his bed, thinking of other things to do. For some reason he caught himself glancing back at Lucas. He kept wondering why Mickey and the pigs were afraid of him. Maybe he disliked animals. But then again, he does own a pet...

_"Oh well, I'm sure he just had a bad experience with pets some time in his life..."_

He spent the rest of the morning thinking of stuff to do. He was afraid that he'd have a really boring week if he couldn't think of anything. Thankfully, the following week was FAR from uneventful, if you catch my drift...

* * *

**Can't wait to see what happens in the upcoming week, can you? I believe it; this upcoming week will be VERY interesting for Mark and company.**

**Now then, let's get on with my favorite part, the QAA!**

**To Salutem: Can you cry on my hand? (I'm missing a glove.)**

Salutem: I am afraid not. My tears will disintegrate all but the Ultra Hero of chapter three in the Divination of Dimensions.

**To the Glitch: Are you like... Constipated or something? And which mob in the Minecraft Dimension do you hate the least? I have to ask, being part Enderman and all.**

The Glitch: No, I am NOT constipated, you imbecile! I contain no bodily fluids, fool! I'm a virus, in case you haven't already noticed! And which mob do I hate the least? Hmm, I hate them all for being such insufficient underlings, but once they're mutated by my viruses I love them all, for they have the help of the bugs deep inside their code! I AM SO EVIL! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

**To Salutem: Exhausted from running and hiding from the virus?**

Salutem: Oh yes, I am more tired every day. Now instead of one virus there are nearly twenty searching Buenomalo, just to find and kill me! It is tiring...

**To Everybody: How are you in the same room together without fighting right now? Danny can't stand Norman.**

Mark: We only have to stay in Pastrinator64's mind when we're not being featured in the story. *fourth wall shatters for the third time this story and the Fourth Wall Repairman comes in with his Wall Hammer, grumbling under his breath* Yeah, I know my life is on paper.

Vanessa: I don't like it at all, whenever the Author isn't talking about us— *Fourth Wall Repairman raises his hands and says, "Hey! All of you just stop talking! Do you know how long it's taking me to fix this fourth wall? My job is stressful enough!" goes back to grumbling and fixing* Seriously, that repairman guy has problems.

Kelsey: I don't know, too many boys trying to flirt with me in the same room doesn't seem good to me.

Gabe: Not enough room for my needs. Also, there are too many girls inside Pastrinator64's mind from The Glitch who are swarming me.

Adrian: Hm, I dunno, it might'a been better if Pastrinator64 had imagined a bigger space for us.

Lucas: Woah! Woahwoah! Isn't this, like, breaking the fourth wall?! This is so cool! *Fourth Wall Repairman is blasted backwards by the explosion of the fourth wall in front of him*

Rexum: As long as I have my Eyestone and golden oak staff, I need not of extra space.

The Glitch: _I despise it! While I am inside the Author's mind I return to being just a thought, just an idea! It is humiliating! I cannot do anything to absorb him! Just this once I do not feel like laughing out loud, I am too disgusted._

Salutem: It's not really THAT bad. The only bad part is that I'm always stuck sitting next to the Glitch. It talks about one day ruling the universe, and I sincerely hope the Author isn't planning for that to happen later on in the story. *Fourth Wall Repairman walks over and grabs a protective suit after being blasted for the second time by an exploding fourth wall, trying to fix it with his Wall Glue to keep it permanently intact*

The Mastermind: Eeheehee! Oh yes, I only had one chapter to appear so far, so I spend a lot of my time in the Author's subconscious thoughts. I like to, eeheeheeheehee, PLAY with the others, they do find me creepy! Mmmhmmhmm...

Mickey: _I do not like being inside there. It is dark and small and scary being around so many people._

Bonbon: Oh yes! Yes, yes, I love being with Lucas! Lucas is my bestest friend! I love him! I love him! Lucas is my bestest friend! I love him! I love being with Lucas! I love him! Yes, yes!

Ridere: Hissssssssssssssssssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. ..

Clamatis: Hisssssssssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhsssssssssss hhhhhhhhhhh...

Felix: My master is a kind and compassionate man, and I do not care if we are in the story or in the Author's mind, as long as I am with him I am happy. *chomps down on his pile of apples*

Amelia: Ooh! It's really fun! This boy named Quinn plays wiff me always! We play Hide and Seek and Chutes and Ladders, my favorites!

Notch: I've barely been mentioned, so I've been stuck inside Pastrinator64's subconscious thoughts the entire time, almost.

Norman: I try and convince the Author to give me as much appearance time as possible, as long as it means I can find Mark and Vanessa!

Lizzy: I agree with Norman, I try and spend as little time as possible in the Author's mind with everyone else.

Danny: Oh my God, things couldn't be worse. Even though it's been twenty years, I still despise the cockiness of that Norman. And now I have to spend most of my time stuck up inside my creator's brain with him! Ugh!

Quinn: There's a new little girl named Amelia that I usually play with. I love little kids, and she's the cherry on top of my

Bailey: I only got two chapters, so I spend most of my time with Lucas. Something's wrong with him, though.

Fourth Wall Repairman: Well, all I get to do is come back here to repair the fourth wall that these idiots keep on breaking! Apparently they just assume that I'm always going to fix it. One day I'll quit though! I swear I will! The stress just kills me!

**Whew! Once again, I feel sorry for the Fourth Wall Repairman.**

**Anyway, for next time, what interesting things will happen during their upcoming week of rest? What really is in Whirlpool Alley besides killer vortexes? And will Mark ever be able to get Kelsey to tell him her feelings for him? Find out next chapter in VOiD!**

**But for now, this is Pastrinator64, and I'll see you later with chapter numbah eleven!**

***throws sugar bomb, disappears in a cloud of fine white sugar***

**Byyyyyeeeeee...**

**~Pastrinator64 [~]**


	11. Chapter 11: Just One Week (Days 1-2)

**Hello, this is Pastrinator64 with another chapter from VOiD. I have picked out a chapter for you guys containing the perfect balance of happy fluff and gut-wrenching sadness! You even get a glimpse into Kelsey's past! But before we get on with the fun, how about some replies to reviews?**

Replies To Reviews

**YoshiEmblem: **Yes, I know, there was SOOOO much foreshadowing in that chapter!

**Somebody10101: **You'll find out EVERYTHING later, don't you worry... HEHEHEHEHEHEHEH!

**Nwinds: **I'm going to check that game out, it sounds like a buttload of fun.

**Guest: **Yeah, that's a common typo I always end up with, but I've got it fixed now.

**clubby789: **Just think of that golden hammer Fix-It Felix has in Wreck It Ralph, it's like that.

**CSICreeper: **Well thank you! :3 I can feel my face get hot... X3 You just made MY day, I'll just say that. :3333333

**Enderdude: **Oh, Lucas does have a very interesting story to tell, that's for certain!

**JumpingJacks1357: **Oh yes, don't you worry, there'll be PLENTY o' drama coming up later! And all those other questions of yours can't be answered, I'd give too much away, so you'll just have to wait until later in the story. Sorry, I'd answer every one if I could... Just keep reading to find out! ;D

**Guest: **Oh, I totally see what you mean, but trust me, I wasn't thinking of The Miners Destiny at the time, but I do see what you mean. Actually, with the whole Mickey talking to Mark thing, it's actually because he finds out he's a Mobwhisperer to ALL mobs later on. Shhh, don't tell anyone! ;)

**Guest: **I guess so, yeah.

**BfheadGamer: **Oh yeah, there are first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh walls involved. I don't remember what the first three are. I know that the fourth is the thought-space between a creator and the creation. The fifth wall is the physical space keeping a creation from being physically with his/her/its creator. The sixth wall is the wall that separates the creation from changing itself inside the creator's thoughts using the knowledge that it is just a thought. And the seventh wall... Well, the seventh wall includes all of them together so you have to try really hard to break the seventh wall. Got all that?

**dadmitch1: **You'll find out, I guess! HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEH!

**Kyle McShade: **Just remember, this chapter is a mixture of both fluff AND depressing scenes.

**Right-o! Now then, let's get back to the actual story!**

**Hello, this is Pastrinator64 with another chapter from VOiD. Last time on VOiD we watched as the entire group decided to stop for an entire week to rest before they continued on with their journey. As well as setting up their temporary home, Mark tried to set up a less-than-temporary relationship with Kelsey, but once again failed to do so. Once the house was set up and Rexum established the rules of the week, they found that if they were getting into trouble they'd be under house-arrest, ESPECIALLY if they wandered into a dangerous place called Whirlpool Alley just fifty blocks from the shores of the nearby beach. Mark went to bed that night and had a crazy love dream with Kelsey, only waking up to find himself kissing Lucas's filthy socks. Now we decide to split our views and see how Mark spends the rest of their first day of the week, and how Kelsey spends her day after that. (Warning, Mark's day will be roughly five times shorter because before this chapter started they'd already gone late into the afternoon with building a house, so he got more like a quarter-day.)**

**Now, let the story commence!**

* * *

_Chapter 11: Just One Week (Days 1-2)_

Day 1-7: The Delusional Woods (Mark's POV)

Mark sat there for another twenty minutes wondering what to do. He couldn't really concentrate, because every time he looked over his shoulder he could see either Gabe or Lucas looking at him. He would just turn back around and ignore them, but that would only last for about thirty seconds before he looked back again.

So instead he decided to continue with his walk that he'd been on before. As he was walking out the door he heard an oink behind him and saw Mr. Pig following him.

"Alright, you can come too." muttered Mark.

So Mark and his new pet pig walked out through the door, and it squeaked again as he closed it behind him. He thought about replacing the door with another one, but he was just lazy and didn't want to do anything involving work, even something as minor as that.

So the two of them walked into the woods, taking a nice calm walk through. Everything was so quiet, and Mark could even hear his breath echoing through the trees. The trees seemed to be breathing, too, just breathing with life as he passed. He'd never actually thought much about nature, even despite the fact that his mom had been an environmental activist.

They both walked for another few hours before stopping to rest. Mark sat down on the grassy hill they were climbing and pulled out a porkchop. Then Mr. Pig scuttled backwards and squealed. Mark looked at the porkchop in his hand and laughed a little, putting it back in his hotbar.

"Oh, right." instead he pulls out two carrots, tossing one to Mr. Pig. "Here, we'll eat carrots instead.

After a quick snack of carrots they headed out into the forest again. But then a few more hours of breathtaking nature later, Mark looked up into the sky to see the sun just beginning to descend towards the horizon. He looked down at Mr. Pig and said,

"Alright, let's head back; we'll be able to make it back to the house before night. We wouldn't want to be stuck out here when it does turn night, everything'll mutate and try and kill us if we stay..."

Mr. Pig seemed to understand his words somehow, because he too scuttled along Mark as he jogged in the direction they came. He continued to pace himself for the rest of the hours, and after about five hours they saw an opening in the trees.

"Alright! We made it!" said Mark.

Mr. Pig oinked excitedly as they came through the wall of trees into the opening. But then Mark stopped for a moment. Their house wasn't even there anymore. Mark looked around for a light of any kind, but there wasn't one. As he looked up at the sky he could see the sun almost touching the horizon. They didn't have much time to find the house; everything was going to mutate in just another hour.

So instead they crossed the small patch of grass amidst the line of trees and got back into the woods. They ran forward for a while, and Mark would check how far the sun went down practically every minute. After another half hour they still hadn't found their house. Mr. Pig began to squeal nonstop, quiet at first, but then louder as they got even more lost.

With only five more minutes to go, Mark was in a full-fledged sprint, his panic setting in, clouding his thoughts. He only had one goal in mind as he tore through the trees at top speed: Get the heck out of here. Then the sun had dipped completely below the horizon and the stars had come out, only each of them were glowing with red instead of calming white-blue light. The moon was back into its mutated phase, its mouth dripping with blood, its eyes searching the forest for someone to lick up and swallow. Mark and Mr. Pig had only been running for five more minutes before the trees in front of him formed a complete wall. Mark looked left and right and the wall stretched on and on. He punched the wood to get through to the other side, but then the trees vibrated, knocking Mark over.

The wall of trees started to shift around, breaking the long line. Mark and Mr. Pig seemed glued to the floor in fear as they watched the trees shuffle on their roots like spiders, all coming together to form a giant mass. The crawling trees clumped together to form two gigantic horny feet, two huge legs, and then a torso. The gigantic tree monster's chest split apart, and out from it came a cluster of jack-o-lanterns that formed a creepy face. The tree giant looked down at Mark and he let out a noise barely audible while Mr. Pig's squeals became even louder.

In his panic, Mark turned around and sprinted in the other direction, grabbing Mr. Pig around the middle to carry him to safety. The tree giant followed them with gigantic booming steps, crushing trees like they were made of paper as it walked. With every booming step Mark and Mr. Pig were launched five blocks into the air. Mark did his best to keep his balance and hold onto Mr. Pig at the same time, but then one time he fell flat on his stomach after the tree giant launched him with its footstep. Mark was lying scared and out of breath on the ground, the wind knocked from his lungs. A few seconds later he turned onto his back and stared up at the tree giant, which was bending over to get a good look at him with those jack-o-lantern eyes.

Then all of a sudden, the jack-o-lanterns that made up its mouth shifted from side to side to create an opening, and from out of it slithered many mossy vines, curling out like the tentacles of a monster. Mark was so horrified that he almost fainted right then and there, but he was jerked awake when the vines grabbed him around his two legs and hoisted him up into the air. He yelled out and screamed for help, but he couldn't. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Mr. Pig trying to avoid capture of the evil vines.

Mark was taken into the mouth of the pumpkin face, right inside the tree giant. He grabbed at the floor beneath him, trying to get a grip on something, but it was no use, the vines just dragged him across the floor. Then he found himself being dragged down a staircase. His chin bumped at every step.

"OWOWOWOWOWOWOW!" he repeated, his head thumping the staircase about twenty times before the vines turned in a different direction.

Mark got dragged down two more hallways until the vines chucked him into a larger room of exactly 10x10x10. Mark stood up and stared around him in the room, and to his horror he saw many other vines whipping both boys his age and grown adult men. There were no women, for some reason. Mark was completely enraged by the scene before him, and he whipped out his diamond sword, yelling as he charged the nearest jumble of vines. He slashed at a couple of vines whipping a young boy, splitting them in two. But the next moment later, the vines grew back as though he'd done nothing, and two of them wrapped around Mark's hand, wrenching it backwards, and his sword went flying.

He was then swung upward just by his arm, being thrown five blocks to the other side. Mark lay on the ground panting, his back aching badly. Then he felt something grab his leg, and he saw a vine that had dropped from the ceiling that was coiling around his leg he scratched and slammed his fists into the vines, but they just bounced back without any effect.

More vines dropped down like tentacles, wrapping around Mark's legs and arms, constricting tightly. Soon he was suspended in the air, his arms and legs completely wrapped in vines. Then two vines sprouted from the ground in front of him, and they rose up like rising snakes. The next moment, one of them pulled back and flew forward, whipping Mark's chest. He felt searing pain go through where it hit. The other vine whipped Mark too, and they continued to do that, and all Mark could do was scream out in pain. Soon Mark could feel blood soaking his chest, and still, what could he do to stop this? Nothing...

* * *

Day 2-7: The Vivicious Vines (Kelsey's POV)

Kelsey was lying on her bed that night worrying about Mark. He hadn't come back yet and it was already past midnight. Her thoughts wandered to the thought of him being attacked, and her stomach sickened. If he really had died, it was her fault for not telling him about her true feelings. Just the thought that she wouldn't be able to talk to him ever again made tears come to her eyes.

She thought of the dream she had the night before for the fifth or sixth time that day. She had gotten a glimpse of her past, her greatest memories with her old boyfriend. She loved it when she had those dreams, because now that she was alone she was still able to feel loved in those little moments. She longed to be loved like that again.

Finally, Kelsey reached her decision and stood up from bed quietly. She was going to go look for Mark even if she died in the process. Kelsey grabbed a bunch of torches and her iron sword, and then tiptoed towards the door. Unfortunately, Rexum sat meditating right next to the door, so she had to be extremely careful when she passed him. As she was pushing the door open it squeaked—even though she'd bothered to replace it several times, the squeak didn't ever go away. She held her breath and watched Rexum's face to see if he was stirring. He wasn't, so she pushed the rest of the door open and walked through into the night.

Kelsey walked to her left into the forest nearby, and then remembered that there were mutant mobs in the forest at night. So she kept her guard, walking slowly and silently. The wet grass squeaked beneath her bare feet, and the only other noise was the occasional screech, gurgle or hiss of a monster somewhere else in the forest. Kelsey was left alone, though, by the mutated mobs hidden in the forest. Just a half hour later she found a long wall of trees lined up side by side. She looked curiously at it, tapping it with her finger, putting her ear to it, and then she looked from side to side at its endlessness. Suddenly, there was a snapping sound and Kelsey screamed as snakelike vines began to slither from out of the cracks in between the trees in front of her.

Kelsey turned around and ran, up the grass was wet and slippery, and she tripped over. A searing pain coursed through her ankle, and she knew that she broke something. Then something wrapped around her other ankle, and the next thing she knew she was yanked up into the air by one leg. She screamed at the top of her lungs as the ground shrank farther and farther away. She flailed, trying to get rid of whatever was around her ankle, but all she did was drop her iron sword, which fell until it hit the ground, wedging into the dirt with the handle up.

Kelsey just continued to scream, flailing desperately, but her other ankle burned with so much pain that she had to stop and save her breath. She continued to be dragged into the air for only a few more seconds, because then she felt herself jerk to the left, still hanging upside down. Then the thing around her ankle let go and she felt herself hit something spongy. Her ankle burned even more and she gasped in pain. She turned her head to where she had been a moment ago and saw a doorway to the outside. She was about to attempt and escape, but then the doorway turned into solid oak wood, vines covering it the next moment.

Kelsey looked around and saw that she was in a small room of only 5x5x5. She also noticed that the walls, the floor and the ceiling were made of oak wood as well. One other interesting thing was that vines were covering each inch of the room, even the floor, which felt spongy. Kelsey stood up with effort, putting all her weight on her good foot, and looked around at the room. She limped over to the side of the room and punched at the vine-covered wood, but before she could do anything the vines clustered together to absorb the punch, making her fist bounce back.

She walked back to the middle of the tiny room and looked around for another way out, but found none, and started to panic even more. Suddenly, she felt the floor beneath her shift, and when she looked down she saw the vines from the floor curling around her ankle again. She panicked and shook the vines off, backing away, only to step in another set of moving vines. They grabbed her bad ankle, and she screamed in pain, but she couldn't yank herself free. She kneeled and tried to pry the vines off, but then they just tightened and began to snake up her leg.

Kelsey continued screaming, her one leg now stuck in place, and felt something along her other leg. She turned to see the other vines wrapped around her other ankle, and she started breathing fast, her panic making her dizzy and sick. She could no longer stop the vines from completely overtaking her. Soon the vines had slithered up to her torso, coiling around her like snakes. She couldn't even stand anymore, because more vines from the floor wrapped around her waist and pulled her to the floor. There was a clump of vines behind her, and they pulled her down to it so that her back was up against it like it was a chair, only the vines from the clump slithered forth and wrapped around both her arms, pulling them to either side.

Now Kelsey was completely ensnared by the vines, and her screams did her no use, just making her tired. If she had just brought the proper armor instead of wearing pjs, the vines wouldn't have been able to get her so easily. Finally, the noise in the room stopped, and Kelsey looked from her tangled torso to her pinned-down legs to the vines wrapped around her ankles.

"What do you things want?! Let me go!" she screamed, trying and failing to tug her way out.

Just then, she saw something appear up against the wall in front of her. It had appeared from out of the vine-covered wood. The thing looked like a large Venus flytrap, and of course it had many bristly green teeth. It traveled through the wood, down the wall and then straightened up on its stem at the feet of Kelsey, and she stared in horror at the abomination.

"What are you?! Let me go!"

Then the Venus flytrap shook its head no, and Kelsey tugged even harder. Just then, the Venus flytrap sprouted two vines from either side of its stem, which slithered along the floor towards her hurt foot. Kelsey shook her head and said,

"Please! Don't break my foot again! Please..."

But instead of breaking her foot, they did something completely different. One vine curled around her foot so that the spongy tip of it was positioned on her sole, and it started to massage. The other vine slithered up and curled in between her toes, massaging as well. Kelsey felt her face turn hot and she started to murmur,

"Oh... Ohhhh..."

The nice sponginess of the vine felt soft and smooth on her sole, and for some reason she didn't think that this creature was going to hurt her. In fact, about a minute of massaging later, the pain in her ankle was completely gone. She looked at the Venus fly trap curiously.

"Um... Thank you?"

It nodded, and then suddenly sprouted two more vines, one on either side. The two slithered over to her other foot and did the same thing, massaging in between her toes and on her sole. Kelsey wondered why this creature had abducted her, scared her to death and dragged her to the ground, just so that it could massage her feet.

Then the Venus flytrap looked at her and, if she wasn't mistaken, smiled. Kelsey felt her right foot give an involuntary twitch as she felt something prickly touch her sole. Then the same thing happened with her left. The prickly thing turned out to be the vines with new tiny bristles grown onto the ends. She felt the bristles go up and down her soles, their prickly little barbs touching her skin lightly, and a bubble of laughter formed in her stomach. She looked at the Venus flytrap and said,

"Oh, I see. You're just lonely here in this dark, damp forest, aren't you?"

The Venus flytrap nodded, and Kelsey felt the vines in between her toes start to get all prickly as well. In between laughs, she talked to the plant.

"You just, heehee, w-wanted someone to play with, didn't you?"

Again the plant nodded, and then Kelsey noticed it sprouting yet two more long vines. The two new ones slithered past her feet, up her legs and to her stomach. They lifted her shirt slightly, showing her flat, smooth belly. The vines grew bristles and crawled onto her stomach, tickling along her sides. Kelsey laughed out loud, squirming underneath her prison of vines. She managed to choke out,

"Quit it!"

But the Venus flytrap shook its head and kept tickling her two most sensitive areas. Another few minutes later she started to get tired, and she looked at the Venus flytrap and said,

"Okay! Heeheeheehee! Stop!" but she was immediately denied. Then she had an idea and said, "Alright, heehee! I'll make you a deal, plant!"

The tickling stopped and the Venus flytrap looked at her, leaning close to her face. She felt hot breath come from in between its many bristly teeth.

"Listen, I have to leave and find my friends, but I'll still make you a deal. Let me go back home, and I'll come here tomorrow and bring everyone with me! Then I can visit you every day!" she offered in a perfect singsong voice.

The Venus flytrap nodded and gave another toothy smile. Then Kelsey remembered why she was out in the woods in the first place.

"And you have to let my friend go; the one you took last night."

The plant didn't do anything for a moment, but then nodded about ten seconds later. Kelsey felt the vines pinning her to the ground retract, slithering away and into the wood floor. Kelsey stood up to brush herself off, but was immediately grabbed by the Venus flytrap's many vines, hugging her close. She laughed as the giant plant let out a lolling blue tongue and gave her a lick on her cheek. She was let go, and as she looked at the plant she said,

"I'm gonna call you Lalita. It fits you because it means playful!"

A doorway at the back of the room opened behind the vines. Lalita traveled across the room, snaking through the ground like it was water. Kelsey walked through the doorway into a larger 10x10x10 room. She didn't know what kind of tree this was all inside, but whatever is was it was pretty darn big.

What Kelsey saw in the room was another thing, and it was surely horrifying. There were areas all around the room where snakelike vines had grown. Kelsey could see about ten different people ensnared in the vines all around the room, but instead of the vines being playful, they were whipping, yes, WHIPPING the people being ensnared. Kelsey shrieked and said,

"Lalita! What's happening?! Let them go!"

Lalita whimpered, but agreed. All of the people in the room were let down from their dangling traps. All of them had bloody whip marks running along their bodies. Then Kelsey realized that every one of them was male. She searched the crowd for Mark, and then spotted him lying crumpled on the ground seven blocks in front of her. There was blood pooling around him, and when Kelsey saw this she turned and screamed at Lalita.

"HOW COULD YOU?! HEAL HIM! NOW!"

Lalita slithered quickly towards Mark, growing about ten different vines from its stem. All of them wrapped around Mark, lifting him into the air. There was a little burst of green light, and Mark's whip marks sealed up completely, the blood drain stopping the next moment. Mark flailed and fell on his back on the wood floor, panting, staring at Lalita, who started to make a grumbling noise and bear her sharp bristle teeth. All of a sudden, Mark saw something and ran straight past Lalita and Kelsey without a second glance, shouting,

"Piggy, no!"

Kelsey turned around to see vines slithering speedily towards the chubby pink blur that was Mr. Pig, who was squealing frantically. Kelsey looked up at Lalita, who was licking her lips at the sight of what was planned to be her next meal. Lalita stomped her foot and said,

"Let the pig be!"

Lalita whimpered, but still agreed, and stopped her vines from chasing Mr. Pig, who stopped the next moment, keeling over a second later from sheer exhaustion. Mark picked up his pig and watched him snooze, and then turned around, saying,

"What's the big deal with... Oh, Kelsey..."

He just noticed Kelsey standing there. He looked from her to Lalita and his eyes widened,

"Kelsey, get away from that thing, it's dangerous!"

Suddenly, a hiss-like voice echoed inside his head that must have belonged to Lalita.

_"No! This girl is friendly and loves to cuddle with me, and I love her and she loves me. You are not going to take her away!"_

Lalita rose to twice her previous height and let out a hiss, her blue tongue creeping through her teeth. Kelsey hugged Lalita and said,

"Lalita, don't. This is the friend I..." then she looked around at all the other people who'd been being whipped. They all lay unconscious or dead in bloody piles on the floor, she couldn't tell which, and she saw boys of young age and adults. But still no girls.

"Lalita, what did you do with all the females you caught?"

Mark interrupted her by saying,

"Kelsey, I think I can actually hear... Er, Lalita in my head, just like I can hear what Mickey says."

Lalita answered the previous question inside Mark's head again.

_"I love the females. They are pretty and cute and nice. I bring them into separate rooms to play with them because they love to laugh and play... But males are evil and reckless; they carry weapons of destruction like fire. Fire has killed many of my kind through them starting forest fires. I whip males in here as revenge for all the ancestors of mine that were burned to ashes."_

Mark repeated Lalita's answer to Kelsey, who frowned at first, and then just sighed.

"Don't you ever let the females go, though?"

Lalita shook her head and then slithered towards the wall, having Mark and Kelsey follow. Then the wall in front of them became transparent, and they could see inside a small room covered in vines, just like the one Kelsey had been in. There was a little girl about the age of ten there. She was shrieking with laughter as she was cuddling up next to a large Venus flytrap like Lalita, the vines snaked under her shirt, poking at her stomach.

Kelsey smiled a little, but then she replaced it with a frown and said,

"Lalita, she probably has a family that's missing her; wouldn't it be better to put that girl back where she came from?"

Lalita spoke into Mark's mind, saying in a sad-sounding voice,

_"You make a good point, I think you are right. I loved playing with the girls, but I know now that it is best to leave them to their lives. I shall let everyone inside my secret tree go..."_

Mark turned to Kelsey, who was staring at him, waiting for an answer.

"She said she'll let everyone in here go."

Kelsey sighed with relief and said,

"Good."

All of a sudden, the wall behind them was blasted open, and a whole lot of gold light burst from the hole. Lalita's voice hissed angrily inside Mark's head, saying,

_"WHO IS HERE?!"_

Rexum walked through the hole slowly, casting a gaze around the room at all the bodies on the ground.

"Alright, what is all this about?!" he saw Mark and Kelsey and said, "What are you two DOING?! Get away from that horrid thing!"

Suddenly, Lalita spoke aloud for the first time, her voice still like a deranged hiss.

"REXUM?! HOW DARE YOU COME INTO MY SECRET TREE AGAIN!"

Rexum stared at Lalita with a look of malice.

"I thought that I exterminated your kind years ago!"

"You misunderstand our kind, Rexum! We are peace-loving creatures!"

"You lie through your teeth, you horrid abomination! You and your Vinekinds killed off hundreds of Minecraftians!"

"And you have killed off HUNDREDS of thousands of us! We have only attacked to protect ourselves from extinction! And now thanks to you we've been reduced to a mere forty-five! I have only found thirty-three of my kind, all of the others have fled throughout Buenomalo because of YOU!"

Rexum froze for a moment, struck by the point like he was slapped with it. Finally, he sighed and said,

"Alright then, I see your reasoning. You may continue to reproduce to restore your kind, but I must... I must also be... Restored."

Lalita paused for a moment, turning her head to look away. Then she turned to Rexum and said,

"Fine, I shall restore you."

In her mind Kelsey thought,

_"Restore what? Do these two have some history, or what?"_

Rexum suddenly pulled off his tattered green robes to reveal his skinny, bony-white torso, and Kelsey felt her eyes widen when she saw the long whip marks on his back. Lalita sprouted out two of her vines and they hovered around Rexum's back, and then she stroked each of the whip marks, and as she did they disappeared. Rexum sighed with relief as the marks disappeared, and it appeared as though he'd had them for a long time. Once Lalita was done, Rexum slipped his green robes back on and turned to face her, bowing with his golden oak staff to the side.

"Now you may be free from any torment."

He raised his staff and shot a sphere of golden glitter around Lalita, and he said,

"Now if you are ever threatened by another individual from my old extermination group or any others you will be able to tell them that I have personally protected you with magic. Now go and bring back your kind if you must, I have to leave here with the boy and girl."

Then Lalita turned down to look at Kelsey and whimpered a little, murmuring,

"B-but you'll come back tomorrow to play, right?"

Kelsey grinned and hugged Lalita around her long stem body.

"Of course!"

So Kelsey said her goodbyes, and they all went back to the gigantic hole that Rexum had blasted into the wall. He twirled his golden oak staff, creating three small clouds of gold particles. He hopped onto one, and Mark and Kelsey did the same. Kelsey was surprised to see that they really were solid, like sitting on a pile of pillows. Once they were on the funny-looking clouds Rexum jerked his staff once more, and they jerked forward like a hook had grabbed them. They sped through the night air, and Kelsey laughed and whooped at the amazing feeling of soaring, her hair flying back in the wind. She turned to look at Mark and noticed he was looking at her, and so she blushed and turned to look the other way.

They flew for another two minutes before they arrived back at the house. As soon as they landed, Rexum stood in front of the door and crossed his arms, looking scornfully at them both.

"I can't believe this... You two have caused nothing but trouble for yourselves. What can you possibly accomplish by wandering off into a mutated forest alone and hardly prepared to defend yourself?" Kelsey and Mark both glued their eyes to the ground. "I expect that you never go off on your own again."

Then he stepped to the side and let them walk back inside. As soon as Kelsey walked in the door she was met with a hug from Gabe. While she was being held, she heard Gabe whisper,

"I thought I'd lost you..."

Kelsey stroked a finger through his hair and said,

"Me too..." she replied.

Then she saw Mark walk past with a disgusted look on his face. She wished so bad that she could tell Mark everything in her head, but... It was just too complicated. So instead everyone went back to bed, leaving Kelsey with guilt bubbling inside her stomach. She still had those love dreams to look forward to, at least...

* * *

That night Kelsey had another dream about her old boyfriend, the music choice of this dream being "Boulevard Of Broken Dreams" by Green Day. She was standing in the cafeteria of her old school. About a hundred kids her age walked around her. They all were smiling, laughing and talking with one another, all of them with his or her friends. She took her place in line by the lunch counters. As she was grabbing a carton of milk something bumped her, and the carton fell, breaking open at her feet, soaking her shoes with milk. She looked behind her and saw two tall kids with dark jackets on.

"Hey Butterfingers, don't slip!"

He and the other guy laughed, and Kelsey could feel her face go red. She turned around and got a new milk carton, but the boy snatched it out of her hand, pushing past her, and in her soggy shoes she slipped, almost landing on the floor. They sniggered and the boy muttered,

"Move it, Butterfingers, I'm hungry and I'm not waiting behind a klutz like you."

Kelsey just ignored them and continued through the lunch line. Once she had her tray she walked away from the two boys, who were muttering dirty words and pointed at her. She walked towards a table with a spot left over. She was about to set her tray down when a girl came and pushed her aside, making her nearly fall again, and she sat herself down in the chair. The other girls at the table laughed very high pitched and fake laughs. One of them sneered at Kelsey and shouted,

"Hey Flatfront! You gonna be Flatfront AND Butterfingers today?"

She stood there extremely angry and embarrassed as the girl stood up and walked over to her, guiding her hand with those painted nails first over her back, saying,

"Flat back!" then over her chest. "Flat front!"

Kelsey stormed away, the girls' laughter ringing in her ears, the name "FLATFRONT" following her as she went. Every time she tried to sit down at a table, the people would trip her or shove her tray away. As she was walking towards another table, she yelped as something tripped her, and she landed on her stomach, her food flying out in front of her. She turned on her aching back, her head pounding, and saw the two boys standing over her along with three more boys, all of them tall and mean and wearing sweatshirts with the hoods pulled up.

They all laughed at her, and she felt tears come to her eyes as she stood up, running away from them. She only went two feet before slipping in the egg salad that had fallen from her tray, and she fell again into a slimy pile of it, most or all of it getting in her hair. She started crying on the floor, the boys' laughter echoing in the air, and not even a teacher or lunch lady came to her aid. While crouched on the floor, slimy and covered in egg salad, her hot face streaked with tears, she heard someone shout out, and then she heard what sounded like fists colliding with bodies. She looked up through her head of long, messy, blond hair and saw another boy who wasn't wearing a sweatshirt smashing his fist into the boy leader's nose, and blood started to pour as the kid recoiled.

"You guys are jerks! Just leave her alone!" Kelsey heard him shout.

The rest of the boys started beating up the other boy, and it was four against one, and the other boy looked like he was helpless against them all. Finally, one of their teachers swooped in and pulled them apart, and she heard a couple words through the pounding of her heart, of which were "all of you" and "detention". Kelsey watched as all of them were taken away by a different teacher, and as the first teacher bent down, grabbing her hands to pull her to her feet. As she was being taken to the bathroom to wash up she caught a glance to the side, seeing all the girls at the other table shrieking with laughter, pointing at her. She thought about that boy, why he had come to help her, about how he dared to punch the school bully.

The next day Kelsey tried to find the boy and thank him. After several boring classes she ran to the office and asked if she could see him, but the hawk-like office lady shook her head and sternly said that people in detention do not get visits. So instead she waited for another day. But the next day she didn't see him. And the next day, and the day after that. This boy was nowhere in sight. Maybe she'd never see him again. The only good thing was that she wasn't bothered or given the nicknames of Butterfingers or Flatfront for a while. After a couple days she gave up and just lived life normally. She was only ten at the time...

* * *

Kelsey opened her eyes, which were drying up from all the crying she'd done in her sleep. She looked to her side in bed and saw Mark with his head turned to the other side, his shaggy black hair poking out from over the blanket. She smiled when she looked at him because he reminded her of this boy. Brave, compassionate, great sense of humor. But still, he just wasn't quite the same...

* * *

Everyone slept in that morning, staying in bed until around noon. Everyone had gotten extra-tired from the ordeal of the vicious yet vivacious vine attack on Kelsey and Mark, so it was natural that they all slept in late. Once they were up, Kelsey remembered that she was going to bring everyone to visit Lalita as promised, so she jumped out of bed and started making breakfast.

For a whole hour she tried to rush everyone through their breakfast so that they could visit Lalita quickly. Once everyone had eaten she led them out the door and towards the forest. As they walked the path she had taken earlier towards the tree wall where Lalita was hidden Kelsey kept finding herself looking back at Mark, who seemed to be ignoring him, and instead focusing on Adrian. They talked the whole time, and Kelsey even saw them laughing. But then Mark looked her way, but caught her gaze and quickly turned away. She turned away and felt even more guilt build up in her gut.

"Oh, I shouldn't have ever acted like I did towards Gabe earlier, now Mark is angry with me. This just isn't going well at all." she thought to herself, the guilt now becoming very sickening.

So she put any negative or guilty thoughts from her mind and just focused on walking. They found the long wall of trees a moment later, and so Kelsey approached the wall and tapped it, saying,

"Lalita! I'm back!"

A few seconds went by before the vines started to snake from out of the cracks in the trees. Then the trees all shifted together like before until they formed the tree giant with the jack-o-lantern face. Lalita's vines slithered down the side and set themselves on the ground, winding together to form a large platform. Kelsey hopped onto it, turned around to see that no one else was getting on, and waved her hand, saying,

"C'mon, guys!"

So the rest of them walked forward and stepped onto the platform, which was large even for everyone to fit on. Once everyone was on the platform, the vines that supported it lifted it high into the air. They flew up about thirty or so blocks to the chest of the tree giant, and on a convenient note, the hole was still there, so they were just pulled right into the 10x10x10 room of wood blocks. Kelsey no longer saw any boys or men or girls or women, so they must've all been healed and/or set free after they left. They stepped off of the vine-crafted platform.

Lalita appeared a moment later, rising up out of the wooden floor. Once she caught sight of Kelsey her Venus flytrap mouth curled into a smile and she slithered forward quickly, her six different vines outstretched. Kelsey ran forward and they caught in a hug, Kelsey becoming wrapped almost entirely by vines.

"I missed you." said Lalita, running a vine through her flowing blond hair.

"I missed you." replied Kelsey.

Then Kelsey introduced everyone, and they awkwardly exchanged hellos. For some reason, when Lalita looked at Lucas she let out a strange warning noise.

"What is wrong with him...? He smells... Different..."

Everybody looked at Lucas, who looked back at them, then held up his arm and sniffed.

"Not me, I swear!" he said embarrassedly.

Then Lalita caught sight of Vanessa—who was actually hiding behind Rexum in fear—and she launched her vines forward, declaring,

"Another girl! Hooray!"

Vanessa yelped as the vines snatched her up by her legs, screaming. Lalita suspended her in the air, licking her face with her forked blue tongue.

"Get off me! GET OFF!" screamed Vanessa.

Then there was a burst of red light, and Lalita was the one to shriek and screech that time as all six of her vines burnt up with bright red magic. When Vanessa landed on the ground Kelsey noticed she had that book of hers, "Moby Dick", and that the magic was still embedded deep in the pages. Lalita continued to screech in pain as lots of sappy liquid spilled out of the holes in her stem where the vines used to come from.

Kelsey ran forward and was so angry at Vanessa that she slapped her on the cheek. Everyone froze except for Lalita, watching Kelsey and Vanessa stare at each other. Kelsey stared her down with a look of anger, while Vanessa stared back with a look of shock, a red handprint clear on her cheek. Then Vanessa ran off crying towards the giant gaping hole in the wall, sitting down at the edge with her legs curled over the edge, her body shaking from her sobs.

Kelsey suddenly felt embarrassed, and she noticed Mark's expression when he was running over to Vanessa. It looked like he was surprised by Vanessa's crying as though she'd never been punished for anything in a long, LONG time. Rexum walked towards the screeching Lalita and waved his golden oak staff, covering her massive stem in gold light. When the gold light dissipated all six holes were sealed up by Rexum's magic.

Their visit ended pretty quickly, because they left about ten seconds later on Rexum's gold clouds. Vanessa especially needed some time, if anything. Once they were home they had to stay within twenty blocks from the house due to a force field made by Rexum, which was their punishment. As Kelsey sat on her bed with her chin resting on her fist she pondered how she could've lost control and slapped Mark's little sister. Now Mark probably hated her even MORE! She pounded herself on the head, thinking,

_"Stupid! Stupid! You're stupid, Kelsey! How is this going to work out now?! Now Mark definitely doesn't like me!"_

And unfortunately for Kelsey, she still had to spend five more days with nothing to put her mind to, which meant five more days to mess up in front of Mark.

* * *

**Woah! I believe I have to give the national award for Most Tear-Jerking Backstory to Kelsey. Did I hear any of you sniffling as you read about Kelsey's blast from the past?**

**Now then, putting the sad dream out of our minds, let's get on with some more QAA!**

**To lovesick Mark: How does it feel to be acting out your dreams in front of Kelsey?**

Mark: Oh, that dream. Man, I've never had such an awesome dream in my life, her body just felt... So... Oooohhhh... Oh! Sorry, I was daydreaming. What were you saying?

**To the Fourth Wall Repairman: It is me who has been bombing the fourth wall!**

Fourth Wall Repairman: So YOU'RE the one who blew up our factory in 2001! It took us years to fix that, you little— *jumps up and strangles you*

**To Lucas: Did the Glitch do something to you?**

Lucas: N-no! Why does everybody look at me as though I'm possessed by the Glitch?! Even Mark looks at me like that!

**To the Fourth Wall Repairman:You should probably join the Union, so Pastrinator would pay you more for your stressful job. I even here if you join the Union you can say whatever you want to your boss without getting fired. And you should buy some more tools, man. I don't think Wall Glue is going to hold it very well. One more thing, you should marry and have kids and force your kids to help you repair the Fourth Wall.**

Fourth Wall Repairman: Oh, I just couldn't. My boss would let me starve before he'd let me quit. I'm bound to this job by a contract, you see, so I can't quit. Besides, my wife Tammy works in a similar field to mine. She works with restoring disruptions in the time-space continuum flow, so she's VERY busy, we just couldn't settle down unless we both took vacation days, which, as you might expect, I have little of. Still, becoming a member of the Union is very tempting...

**To Mark: Can't you get a different block power by going to school?**

Mark: You can? Is that what school is like in the Minecraft Dimension? Cool, I wish I'd always gone to school here, then, it sounds like more fun than reading, writing and arithmetic, that's for sure. -_-

**To Mark: *gives Mark a white horse and shining armor* Use these wisely to get your girl! Please?**

Mark: Hmph... I don't know, after what Kelsey did to Vanessa I'm not sure I want to give her anything. Unless she apologizes, I'm keeping this horse and horse armor to myself. *walks off with the white pony who is now named Elmer*

**Alright! Long chapter, wasn't it? Not the longest, but still... Now then, how will things work out now that almost everyone had tension between them? Will they be able to last a whole week with each other? And how could've a beautiful and innocent girl like Kelsey been so abused in her younger years? Find out next chapter in VOiD!**

**But for now, this is Pastrinator64, and I'll see you later with chapter numbah twelve!**

***throws sugar bomb, disappears in a cloud of fine white sugar***

**Byyyyyeeeeee...**

**~Pastrinator64 [~]**


	12. Chapter 12: Just One Week (Days 3-4)

**Hello, this is Pastrinator64 with another chapter from VOiD. I have another important announcement for you all. I will be leaving this Sunday for a week at a science/math camp being held at Madison University, so I just wanted to let you all know I won't be here next week. I just wanted to say that now because I definitely won't be able to have another chapter ready by tomorrow before I leave. Anyway, now that you know, how about some more replies to reviews?**

Replies To Reviews...

**Somebody10101: **I don't know, I think that'd be overkill, just saying.

**YoshiEmblem: **You want to hug Lalita? Only if you want to get tickled to death, dude. X3

**Guest: **I bet she felt like garbage, that's for certain.

**JumpingJacks1357: **You find out about why Mr. Pig didn't mutate a few chapters in the future.

**Nwinds: **I try and make myself cry when I write backstories, that's how I decide if they're good enough.

**Nwinds: **Got it!

**Enderwolf: **No, instead of dying in lava, first they need to be punished by Lalita's whipping, and THEN be thrown into lava.

**CSICreeper: ***and then, Squidward comes in to rescue everyone from Pastrinator64's mind-control Poptarts* XD

**Tribble queen: **Scary? What, are you afraid of Lalita or something?

**Kyle McShade: **I've never actually encountered a horse in survival before. I try, though.

**Enderdude: **I'll have an OC in a few chapters, you just wait... ;)

**Done, done, and DONE! Now then, ON WITH THE STORY!**

**Hello, this is Pastrinator64 with another chapter from VOiD. Last time on VOiD we watched as Mark wandered off into the woods with his pet Mr. Pig. It had gone past night, and they were both lost, but then got captured by a mysterious tree giant an tendril-like vine creatures. Past midnight, Kelsey went looking for him, only to be captured by the same vines. She got the tickling of a lifetime by a strange mutant Venus flytrap inside the tree giant, but then convinced the plant to let her and Mark go. She found Mark and several other men and boys being whipped in an entirely separate room, and Mark had to be healed by the plant, which was now named Lalita. Rexum came in to take them away after a brief period of his and Lalita's argument. Around noon that day, after everyone had a good sleep they came back to visit Lalita, which ended with Vanessa being slapped by a furious Kelsey. This set everyone in a totally stony mood. Now we watch from first Adrian and then Gabe's perspectives as they go through the next two days of their week.**

**Now, let the story commence!**

* * *

_Chapter 12: Just One Week (Days 3-4)_

Day 3-7: The Curse Of The Spherical Specter (Adrian's POV)

Adrian could definitely tell there was some tension between Mark and Kelsey the day after the disaster involving his little sister getting slapped and that creature Lalita becoming a sap-gushing cripple-plant for thirty seconds. It was only ten o'clock in the morning and Mark was already looking moodily at Kelsey, who would frequently cast a look at him to try and catch his eye. Not his eye, Mark's eye. Adrian and Mark would joke around and talk, but Adrian could definitely tell Mark's mind was always somewhere else.

Then there was the matter of Mark's little sister Vanessa. She just sat by the window, staring out at the ocean nearby, just staring with no expression at all. Mark usually tried to talk with her, but the most she did was answer with one word answers or just nod/shake her head.

Everybody in the cabin just seemed tense. Rexum was angered with Mark and Kelsey for causing so much trouble. Mark was now unwilling to talk to Kelsey, while Kelsey seemed desperate to talk with him. Vanessa wouldn't talk to ANYONE. Gabe just seemed solemn, but still ignored Mark and his feelings for Kelsey completely. And for some strange reason, the Mickey the silverfish and the entire pig family seemed to be scared to death of Lucas. The only person who didn't have anything against anyone was... Well, him!

Adrian looked around the quiet cabin and finally he sighed, standing up, but nobody looked at him.

"Alright, I'mah gonna go out and explore. While I'mah gone, I want ya guys to get back together like ya used ter be!"

Then he walked over to the furnaces, picking out a couple of porkchops, and then left without anyone giving him a second look. He walked down towards the beach and just walked, twirling his iron frying pan around with his finger through the hole on the handle. He mastered this skill back when he lived on Earth around the time of when he was only thirteen, maintaining the skill all the way until he was forty before he forgot. Since his Minecraftian soul remained in the game, he still has that skill with him.

It made him think of his old life back in Texas when he was a kid. He and his family had always been poor, but they sure knew how to have a good time. In fact, Adrian had taught himself to dance when he was fourteen, a year before he played Minecraft for the first time.

Adrian walked along the beach for a while, thinking about everything, just everything that came to his mind. Although, after a whole hour of just walking on the beach, he began to grow hot and tired, so he looked around to check there was no one nearby, and took off his checkered blue shirt and shorts and folded them neatly on the sand, setting his hat on top.

He dove into the water and swam for about ten minutes just to keep cool, and after that time he got out, air-dried his whole body—except his hair, which would remain wet for a little while longer—and went to put on his clothes. But when he got there, he realized something was missing: His favorite cowboy hat. That especially made him mad, because he'd rather run naked through the entire Mall Of America than lose his cowboy hat.

Adrian looked around for the jerk who took it, but he didn't see anyone. Instead, he saw someTHING. Standing in between two trees of the nearby forest was a witch. Yes, a witch in a forest, which Adrian didn't think was possible, but there she was in front of him. The witch had replaced her traditional pointy witch's cap with his cowboy hat, which was perched lopsided on her balding gray scalp. Then the witch spotted him looking and her eyes widened, and naturally, she ran into the forest.

"That does it!" said Adrian.

He ran into the forest, pursuing this witch, and for some reason every time he saw her he could only see her turn a corner. He pursued her for who knows how long, and finally he caught up with her. The trees were thinning out, making it easier for him to run after her. Soon he was a mere five blocks away from her. The witch suddenly found herself at the mouth of a cave, and she rushed in at once, taking the hat with her.

Adrian stopped at the dark hole standing between him and his hat, and he shuddered. Despite how he acted, there were two faults in Adrian. One, that he was afraid to go into caves due to his fear of hostile mobs, and two, that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't properly assassinate a Creeper. So he had a decision to make: Either chicken out and forget the hat he grew up wearing, or enter a dark cave with the prospect of facing a witch and possible Creepers.

He took the latter.

Adrian took a deep, cleansing breath and entered the dark cave, his frying pan poised to strike. He wished dearly that he'd brought torches now that he was swallowed in darkness. Suddenly, just when he thought about coming back later with some torches, a light appeared in front of him, which filled the entire cave. It was a large cave indeed, and there were several pretty waterfalls and lavafalls and crevices and pillars of rock, and PLENTY of colorful ores lining the walls.

Adrian was absolutely terrified of it all.

The light itself was a suddenly placed torch, only it was lit with a white flame strong enough to give light to the entire cave. Sitting behind the torch was a small figure completely covered in a gray cloak.

"Hello." the person said plainly.

Adrian jumped slightly, not used to meeting strange people in caves.

"I am the Spherical Specter, what can I do for you?"

"I... Uh... I jus' wanted to find ma hat. Some witch took it inter this cave and I—"

"Ah, so Matilda is up to her usual schemes. Oi! Matilda!"

Suddenly, Matilda the witch appeared from out of nowhere with Adrian's hat still on. He tried to snatch it back, but she zoomed backwards, and at his amazed expression she said,

"Potion of Swiftness." then she turned to the small hooded figure sitting behind his candle and said, "Whadda you want?! I'm trying to find something that'll go good with this hat..."

The figure's voice suddenly turned raspy when they spoke,

"You fool, that is a men's hat. Besides, I am not interested in your stolen goods, I want you to help me propose an offer to Mr. Adrian Stevenson otherwise known as Adrian Grass..."

"How did—" began Adrian, raising a finger.

But Matilda cut in and shushed him. Her eyes went down from his eyes to his feet and then back up again as she observed him. Adrian began to feel extremely awkward, and he looked back down at the figure.

"Er, can I just have ma hat back?" he asked hopefully.

The figure nodded his head and replied,

"Yes you may."

"Oh, great, so..."

He tried to snatch the hat back from Matilda's clammy scalp, but she zoomed out of the way again.

"But first you must complete a task for me..." said the figure.

Adrian rubbed his temples to get rid of an oncoming headache.

"Will it take long, cuz I've gotta get back ter—"

"No, it will not take very long, but you MUST do it properly."

"Ok," said Adrian sitting down on the rock to rest; the long run had still winded him. "I'm listening."

"You must get me that kerosene lamp."

The figure pointed directly above him at the ceiling of the cave. Hanging magically in midair near the ceiling was a sphere-shaped—no joke, it really was a sphere—kerosene lamp. The only thing was, it was roughly twenty blocks up. Adrian grinned; knowing all he'd have to do was go outside, grab some dirt and go up to grab it.

"Let me go outside and grab some dirt and—"

"No, you are not allowed to leave the block on which you stand, otherwise you'll be disintegrated upon contact with another block."

Adrian's mouth opened slightly at the realization of his hopeless task. He had no blocks and he couldn't move from where he was standing. To his side Matilda smiled and said,

"Ooh, how DREADFUL! This really IS a hopeless case!"

But then Adrian actually had an idea. He may not have had blocks, but he did have other items with him.

He took a cooked porkchop from his hotbar and set it frying pan, looking up at the kerosene lamp that was his target. He swung back and then forward, launching the porkchop into the air. But it missed by a whole two blocks, and landed on the nearby stone, disintegrating instantly.

Adrian felt his palms get sweaty as he put on his last porkchop. He looked up, focusing hard on the floating kerosene lamp, and he tossed the porkchop. Once again, he failed to hit his target, and it landed with a splat, then disintegrated the next moment. He didn't have any more porkchops.

Then he looked down at his iron frying pan. What would it be, his frying pan or his hat? Then he reminded himself that he really didn't have a choice now that everything around him caused automatic-death upon contact. So, he looked back up at the kerosene lamp, bit his lip, and then swung. Third time's the charm, because the iron frying pan just grazed the lamp, and it fell out of the air. Adrian caught his frying pan first, jerking it forward in his hand to catch the falling kerosene lamp. Then the figure spoke again, saying,

"Good, good. Now give it to me."

Adrian gave the kerosene lamp to the cloaked man, who took it with both hands. Then, without warning, he thrust it downward at the stone ground, making it shatter. A wave of kerosene splashed over the strange white torch, which flared up to fifty times its original size, forming a perfect sphere of flame. Adrian stumbled backwards, his eyebrows surely singed off, staring at the giant white fireball, which had suddenly turned a violent shade of blue. Suddenly, a light purple face appeared onto it, crooked and grinning.

_"YOU TOTALLY FELL FOR IT! AAAAHAAAAHAAAAAAAA!"_

Mark just stared, absolutely horrified and frozen in place by chilling fear. The fireball's stare bore through him like an icy cold drill as it spoke.

_"THAT CLOAKED MAN WASN'T THE SPHERICAL SPECTER! I AM THE SPHERICAL SPECTER! I HAVEN'T BEEN OUT OF THAT HORRID TORCH FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS EVER SINCE I GOT SHUT OUT BY THAT FOOL REXUM, THAT OLD WIZARDING IDIOT! OHHHH, BUT NOW THAT I'M OUT I FEEL LIKE DOING WHAT I USED TO DO... PUTTING EVIL CURSES ON PEOPLE! AAAAHAAAAHAAAAAAAA!"_

Adrian panicked and stumbled to his feet, running in the other direction, but a blue wall of fire before he'd gone five steps, and he was forced to turn around and face the Spherical Specter's giant fireball.

_"AND NOW, INTRODUCING YOUR VERY OWN CURSE! OOGLYBOOGLY! WAGGAMAGGA! FUCHUBRUCHU! MACHAPACHACHAPDACK!"_

A blue light flashed in front of Adrian's face and he blinked away stars, a sickening feeling entering his stomach.

_"AAAAHAAAAHAAAAAAAA! NOW YOU'VE BEEN CURSED! YOU WANT TO LEARN ABOUT IT?! NO?! WELL TOO BAD, I'LL TELL YOU ANYWAY! NOW EVERY TIME YOU SHAKE HANDS WITH SOMEBODY, GUESS WHAT HAPPENS?! YOU TURN INTO A SPHERE! YES, YOU WILL BE THE ONLY SPHERE IN THE WORLD OF MINECRAFT! GOOD LUCK TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO REVERSE IT! AAAAHAAAAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"_

There was another burst of blue light, and Adrian closed his eyes to avoid becoming blind. After a few seconds he opened his eyes again, and all that was left was a perfectly normal torch sitting where the white one used to be. The Spherical Specter, the hooded figure and Matilda were all gone. Adrian's hat was sitting in front of the torch, which he hastily picked up, hurrying towards the cave mouth. He'd been eager to leave the cave ever since he entered.

He slapped his hat back on his crop of brown hair, wondering what the heck just happened. Instead of exploring more, he decided that it was time to go home, take a rest, and figure out how to explain to the others about what he just experienced. Then there was the matter of shaking hands...

When Adrian walked in the door, he noticed that everyone was still sulking around, glaring at each other or not looking at all. He walked up to Mark, who was still staring with his eyes squinted at Kelsey, and he said,

"Hey Mark?"

Mark didn't look up at him, but answered with a grunt to show he was listening.

"I need ter tell and show ya sometink extremely important."

He looked up at Adrian and said,

"Ok, what?"

Adrian twiddled his thumbs and replied,

"Er, but nobody else can be watching, not yet."

Mark sighed, looked back at Kelsey, and then stood up. Adrian led him out through the squeaky door and they walked towards the beach. Once they set foot on sand Adrian looked back to make sure they were a good distance from the house. Then he turned back to Mark and said,

"Ok, yer not gonna believe me, but..."

"Go ahead, I'll try to believe you just because we're friends."

So Adrian told Mark everything. He started with him taking a swim in the beach, going to the witch named Matilda luring him with his hat into the cave, then to the cloaked figure with his white torch and him having to get the kerosene lamp down. Then he talked about the whole Spherical Specter coming up from the torch and giving him a curse, and what the curse was.

"...And so whenever I shake hands with someone I'mah supposed to turn inter a sphere."

Mark pondered over what he said for a minute or so, but then looked at him and said,

"I'll believe it when I see it." he extended his hand. "Let's shake to prove it."

Adrian pulled back his hand immediately.

"But the Spherical Specter weirdo didn't say how ter reverse it."

Mark rolled his eyes and said,

"Dude, haven't you ever heard of Paper Mario Thousand Year Door?"

Adrian blinked, looking clueless.

"It's this really, really, REALLY old game my dad has in mint condition, and it's like, from over four hundred years ago in the year 2004 or something. Anyway, Mario, the main character, meets this random black box that when opened lets out a spirit kinda like the guy you said you met. Then he curses Mario, but the curse turns out to be useful instead of crippling! Everyone there is made of paper, so... Get it?"

Adrian raised his head like he was going to nod, but it turned into a shake again.

"Mario turns into different paper-formations like a normal slip of paper, a tube, an airplane, and a paper boat. When he turns back, he UNFOLDS into his normal form. Have you ever heard of papercraft?" this time Adrian nodded. "Well, there are tons of papercraft for Minecraft on Earth. All we are here are just REALLY strong papercraft folds, you see? It's because our bodies have perfect dimensions. So, when you turn into a ball, you must just crumple up like a papercraft! Then all you have to do is have someone fold you back together, am I right?"

Adrian thought about this, and then shrugged.

"I guess so. But if this turns out for the worst, yer NOT gonna roll ma body through sand and grass just ter get ter Rexum."

Adrian extended his hand to Mark, and they shook. Suddenly, Adrian gasped as he felt something heavy come over him, almost sickening, but at the same time somewhat relaxing; it was a very strange sensation. But then he felt his vision curving around, and he knew he was crumpling up into a ball. When it was all done, his vision was completely slanted, and he couldn't move any of his limbs. But as though it were instinct, he found himself rolling towards Mark, who was looking down on him. He didn't know how he managed to move, but he was doing it.

"Dude, Adrian! You really are a ball of a crumpled up paper! You're pretty much the same size as a regular block, only spherical." he grinned and shook his head. "It's just like Paper Mario all over again! Can you roll around on your own?"

"I... I think so."

Adrian tilted to the right and started rolling. He rolled in a full circle around Mark and then stopping with his head faced back up. He wanted to make sure he wasn't face-first in the sand as much as possible.

"Yep. Now, I don't care how this'll come in handy, jus' get me oughta this form."

Mark walked forward and picked up the lightweight crumpled ball that was Adrian and started to un-crumple him. Once that was done he was jus the dimensions of papercraft, so he set Adrian on the ground and started folding, humming to himself.

"Ohhhhhkaaaayyyyyyy, this feels weird." muttered Adrian.

Finally, Mark folded in the last side for the dimensions of his head, and as though it were magic Adrian came to life again, his body back to how it should be. He rubbed all over his body, which ached from being crumpled into a ball. He stood up and shuddered, brushing sand from his blue checkered shirt. As he took off his hat to tip it over, sand poured out of the rim.

"Well, at least now ya know I'mah not lying."

Mark looked back at their house in the distance and said,

"How're you gonna tell the rest of them about this? Nobody will believe you unless you transform back into a crumpled ball of used-to-be-papercraft, which I'm sure you don't want to do."

"I guess I'll just have ta do it. Not now, though, not terday, ma body's still sore." muttered Adrian.

As they walked back to their house, Adrian looked sideways at Mark. He wished that he and Kelsey would make up again, so he figured maybe he could talk him into it.

"Mark, I need ta know why yer mad at Kelsey."

Mark scowled and muttered,

"Well for one thing, she slapped my little sister. And two, she's making googly-eyes at Gabe, who, from most people's perspectives, is WAY cooler than I am. He deserves Kelsey, I'm just a dweeb anyway."

"Mark, if yer a dweeb, then yer the goldang coolest dweeb I've ever met."

Mark smiled a little, which was a start, but then he scowled again.

"Yeah, well... I just love Kelsey so much! It's kind of obvious, too, and she knows it. And I'm just not sure whether she likes me or Gabe or both or neither... Or whatever! I just don't know, and that's what's bugging me the most, the fact that she won't tell me either way." he protested, crossing his arms.

Adrian looked back at the house, which was coming closer into view.

"You know, ya gotta prove ta Kelsey that yer her man, if ya want my advice." he said, putting an arm around Mark.

"Yeah, but that's what Gabe said to me, and then he went and fell in love with her too." he muttered.

"It doesn't matter what Gabe does, yer so much better than him in so many ways!"

"Oh yeah? Name some for me." said Mark, rolling his eyes.

Adrian began to tick off his fingers, saying,

"Well, you've got a great sense o' humor, ya actually like ta talk ter her (Have ya seen Gabe say so much as three sentences ter her?), plus you've got good looks."

"Looks as good as Gabe? Really, Adrian?" said Mark sarcastically.

"Gabe looks like a gorilla in hiking boots, Mark."

That made Mark laugh, and he slapped Adrian on the back.

"You're right, that's what I've got to do! I know she's done things, but I think I understand now. She was just really angry with Vanessa before, I might've done something worse considering she's my sister. Plus, when she was with Gabe that moment when we got home, I don't think she was really missing him, I think she was covering up for having affections for me! But then again, what is she hiding that I can't know?" murmured Mark, racking his brain for answers.

"Well, here we are!" they had already arrived at their door. "You gonna go and ask her, or what?"

Mark stepped through the door, muttering,

"Yes, yes I am!"

As Mark went over to find Kelsey, Adrian walked back to his bed and lay down on it, giving his body time to rest up and get rid of the aches. A few minutes later, Mark came back to him and said,

"Well, Kelsey must've left, because she's definitely not here."

Adrian inclined his head to look at him and said,

"She's probably thinking over everything like you were, let's give 'er some time. Wait 'til tomorrow to say anything."

The rest of the day, Adrian lay on his bed without moving, keeping his limbs relaxed and out of stress. He wanted to get up and do something, but after going through the crumpling curse he didn't want to move his sore muscles. Soon it was nighttime, and Kelsey finally came in the door. Adrian looked to his side at Mark, who was looking up at Kelsey as she passed. She looked at him, gave a little nod, and then lay down in her own bed without a word. Mark looked over at Adrian with a grin, signaling that the nod was a good sign. Adrian grinned back, but it turned into a grimace as he looked back up at the ceiling. He hoped that he wouldn't be completely useless by tomorrow.

* * *

Day 4-7: The Secret Project (Gabe's POV)

Gabe sat on his bed, the springs creaking from his weight. He sat in a pose similar to The Thinker's. He was running through what he needed to do for the day: 1. Get lapis lazuli, 2. Get coal, 3. Get sand for glass, 4. Get bones, 5. Get wood, 6. Get spider eye, and finally, 7. Get roses. These things were key ingredients for his survival, the reasons, however, remained unknown.

He stood up and looked around at his colleagues. He didn't know what had happened yesterday, but now Mark didn't look stony-faced anymore. Kelsey kept glancing from him to Gabe, then back to whatever she was doing. Rexum had apparently gotten over the whole disaster with that mutant plant creature and Mark and Kelsey wandering off, because now he just meditated quietly in the corner, sitting atop his frosty Eyestone with a calm face. Vanessa seemed to be the only one who wasn't looking at anyone; she still looked frustrated as she stared out the window for the second day in a row.

Gabe walked towards the door, the only one glancing up being Lucas, who'd been sitting on his bed, cracking his toes. Once he was through their squeaky front door he walked towards the forest to grab some wood. He only needed one block, so he left a tree sitting there without a middle. Then he walked towards the beach to get some glass. He broke some blocks of sand and then headed back towards the direction of their house.

Now he headed into the forest quietly, searching for any spiders. He didn't find any, unfortunately, but he did find an open patch of sunlight where some arrows and bones from a burned-up skeleton. He picked up both, and then continued into the forest to find a spider.

Even after a couple hours of walking, Gabe didn't find a single spider. Rexum wouldn't let him go out after dark when all the mobs were mutated, so he would have to find a tame spider during the daytime if this were to work... If it... Would work... It would have to, wouldn't it?

Gabe walked back to the grassy plains where their house was, looked around for roses, but didn't see any, so instead he walked out back and took a couple roses from their garden. Then he walked back the front door, thinking over the rest of his list. A lot of his items required mining, so he walked back inside to get his pick. Once again, nobody but the curious Lucas looked up at him as he went about his business. As he was exiting the house, he heard someone move behind him. The moment he was out the door, he heard Lucas speak behind him.

"Hey, whatcha doing?"

Gabe didn't bother looking back, he just started to tunnel into the ground without an answer. Once he hit stone Lucas said again,

"I said, whatcha doing?"

As Gabe drilled into the stone with his shiny diamond pick he said,

"That is none of your business."

Then Lucas went quiet. Gabe actually thought that Lucas had gone away, but then he hit a cavern a few minutes later, and as he walked into it he heard the boy speak again; apparently he was still being followed.

"Whadda you mining?"

"That is none of your business. Do not make me repeat it again." muttered Gabe.

Gabe walked towards a vein of coal set in the floor and mined it out.

"Secret crafting recipe, maybe?" asked Lucas, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

Gabe didn't answer; he just continued to walk on. Then he entered a darker part of the cavern.

"You shouldn't be down here without a weapon." he said.

He started tunneling into the wall; he still needed to find some lapis lazuli.

"Trust me, Gabe, I don't need a weapon."

Gabe turned around to look at Lucas, who was staring him down suspiciously. He had out his diamond axe, which was clutched in his hand at his side. Lucas turned around; placing some random obsidian he somehow managed to obtain to block the way out. Darkness filled the room, and suddenly Gabe felt a hand close around his neck, pushing him against the stone wall behind him. Then he felt the blade of the axe positioned on his chest.

"I'm onto you, "Gabe". I will find out what you are hiding, I swear I will. And if you tell anyone about this, I will kill you, even if you aren't an imposter..."

Then he felt the blade and the hand pull away. Gabe felt blindly to the other wall and broke open the wall of obsidian with his diamond pickaxe. Once it was all gone he stepped back out into the cavern, looking around in the light of the nearby lava stream. Lucas was already gone.

Gabe grimaced, knowing that his secret wouldn't be a secret for long if this kept up. So he mined quickly, finally finding some lapis after another hour or so. Then he headed up his staircase to the surface. The sun was just beginning to set, so he didn't have much time to find spider eyes. Then he realized that Mark had killed that mutant spider a while ago when he was trying to save that Amelia girl, so there must be spider eyes in one of the their chests.

So he jogged up to the door, opening it up as quietly as it would cooperate. He closed it once inside and walked over to their chests in the middle of the room. He opened them one by one, and found the spider eyes he was looking for in the food chest—technically, even though temporarily poisonous, they were still foodstuffs. Gabe took the spider eyes and then stood up by one of the crafting tables above their furnaces. He put the ingredients on the crafting table, setting down the lapis to make blue dye, and then the coal to make black dye. Then he took out the glass, setting it down as well. He put down both the dyes, making a murky blue dye as a result. As he was putting his sand into the furnaces below him he heard someone talk behind him.

"Hey, whadda you making?"

For a moment Gabe jumped, thinking it was Lucas, but when he turned around it was just Kelsey. He looked over her shoulder to see Lucas sitting on his bed, watching him closely. He looked back down at Kelsey and muttered,

"Uh... I am making... I can't say it aloud."

"Whisper it, then."

He looked back at Lucas, who was definitely giving him a warning look.

"I can't tell anyone, I'm sorry."

Then Gabe turned around to take out his new blocks of glass, placing them on the crafting table. Kelsey stood on her tip-toes to get a better look of the crafting table's top where Gabe was making who-knows-what.

"Dark blue dye and glass? What do expect to make?"

Gabe ignored her question. The last thing he needed was for everyone to figure out what he was doing. He couldn't even tell Kelsey, not even her.

"Please, may I have privacy?"

Kelsey shrugged and walked back to her bed, sitting down to watch him curiously from there. Gabe went back to crafting, his thick fingers fumbling with the dye and the glass. His fingers were soon stained dark blue. Then the night flew over them, and Rexum told him to go to bed. He just put his items in the hotbar on his left arm for safekeeping. As he lay down in bed, he wondered both about whether he'd be able to create what he needed and about whether he'd even be able to keep his project a secret. At the moment, both of them seemed, well, utterly hopeless.

* * *

**OHHHHHHHHHHH YEAH! Now the secrets really are spilling out! It seems as though Lucas and Gabe both have secrets! So, what do you suppose Gabe might be crafting? You'll find out soon enough, don't you worry!**

**Now then, MORE QAA!**

**To the Fourth Wall Repairman: I dressed up like my OC and behaved like my OC for an entire day. *puts on helmet and ducks***

Fourth Wall Repairman: Er, good for you. I don't suppose your OC is good at fixing the fourth wall, is it?

**To Lalita: I'm a guy but can I have a hug? _(w)_**

Lalita: Now that I have been freed from torment by Rexum, I guess I no longer detest males! Of course! *wraps you completely around your torso with like ten vines*

**To the Fourth Wall Repairman:** **That was a duplicate me! *dons anti-strangle armour***

Fourth Wall Repairman: Curses! Foiled again!

**To Lucas: How do you feel about the questions about the Glitch doing something to you? Here *ggives him every kind of ice cream you can think of* enjoy!**

Lucas: Um... No... That's not it.

**To Sky: Are you ashamed you lost the rap battle?**

Sky: Am I ashamed?! ASHAMED?! ASHAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMEEEEEEEEEEDDDDDDD?! ...Yeah.

**To: Lalita A.k.a. Giant Friendly Deku Baba: ****What do you mean Lucas "smells different? (PS Here is zombie to cuddle.)**

Lalita: He smells... *snifffffffffffffffff* Untrustworthy...

**To Da Glitch:** **What ya do ta Lucas? Filty ole codger!**

Da Glitch: _Whadda ya talkin' 'bout fool? You da filty ole codger! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!_

**To Vanessa: Do you hate Kelsey now? And your name reminds me of my sister.**

Vanessa: Yes, even more than before. Not only is she mean, but she's also making googly-eyes at Gabe! MY GABE!

**To Kelsey: Apologizing to Mark anytime soon?**

Kelsey: I want to, it's just... Oh, everything is so complicated, I couldn't explain it...

**Alright, but for next time, how will all these secrets be revealed? What exactly is going on between Lucas and Gabe? And what IS Gabe trying to craft in secret? Plus, how does Adrian feel about being crumpled into a ball? (That one's kinda obvious, actually...)**

**But for now, this is Pastrinator64, and I'll see you later with chapter numbah twelve!**

***throws sugar bomb, disappears in a cloud of fine white sugar***

**Byyyyyeeeeee...**

**~Pastrinator64 [~]**


	13. Chapter 13: Just One Week (Days 5-6)

**Hello, this is Pastrinator64 with another chapter from VOiD. Well, I just got back from engineering camp, and I have to say, I was extremely impressed! Even so, I knew I couldn't live without all you guys! Also, sorry about the later post, I kinda slept in... Yeah, and it takes a while to prepare the Author's notes and stuff. **

**Also, on an unrelated note, I'd just like to say that my younger sister has just gotten a Fanfiction account, and I'd like to recommend her to you. Her username is Rehtse46, and she's currently writing a Super Smash Brothers story. She's already in my Favorite Authors list.**

**Anyway, :D so now that I'm back and ready to go, how about some replies to reviews?**

Replies To Reviews...

**Kyle McShade: **Why yes! I have practiced the fine art of mind-reading... Hasn't everyone? :3

**YoshiEmblem: **Trust me, this camp wasn't like a "fill-in-the-piece-of-freaking-math-problems-by-to morrow" kind of camp, it was actually enjoyable.

**Guest: **You find out later, and it really is something, I'll just say that.

**Enderdude: **I've always wanted to go to Mall of America, but... Sadly, we don't have the time nor the money to do that, so it's not really a reasonable plan. Oh well, you can't have everything can you? :)

**Tribble Queen: **I hate Papercraft too, I tried making a squid once and, well, let's just say I got frustrated after ten minutes.

**Happy Anonfish: **As I was writing it I was thinking of Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door. I was playing it at the time and I was totally obsessed. Yeah, it's the second time I've played it, though.

**CSICreeper: **Give me a P! Give me an A! Give me an S! Give me a T! Give me an R! Give me a Y! What's that spell? PASTRY! WOOOOOT! RAWR!

**Guest: **Hey, hey, it just took me a long time to write! Chill, man...

**Alrighty then! Now, who'd like to get on with the story?**

**Hello, this is Pastrinator64 with another chapter from VOiD. Last time on VOiD we watched from Adrian's point of view as his hat was stolen by a witch, and he was led to a cave, finding an ancient spirit inside that he was forced to let free. He received a curse that would allow him to crumple up into a ball whenever he shook hands (he has yet to find a use for this). Then we switched to Gabe's point of view. There we saw a very interesting scene involving him and Lucas, in which he was pinned to a wall with Lucas's diamond axe (named C.H.O., short for Chops Heads Off, if you remember). Both points of view proved to be quite interesting, but now we watch from Vanessa's POV as she masters the art of Light magic. After that we'll see how Rexum reacts to the many visions he receives under his trance.**

**Now, let the story commence!**

* * *

_Chapter 13: Just One Week (Days 5-6)_

Day 5-7: Back For More (Vanessa's POV)

Vanessa woke up the next morning to the sizzling of meat in a frying pan. She sat up in bed and looked around, seeing Adrian walking around, offering sausages to people. When he approached her, he asked,

"Hungry, cowgirl?"

Vanessa shook her head, not saying anything. She was still bitter towards Kelsey, but then she wondered why she was being bitter towards Mark's best friend. Before Adrian walked away she blurted out,

"Is Kelsey sorry?"

Adrian turned to look at her.

"Kelsey? About slapping ya?"

Vanessa nodded, the ghost pain of Kelsey's hand coming back to her cheek suddenly.

"Oh yeah! Kelsey's been eager ter apologize Mark AND you! She's had enough o' yer silence, she wants ya to forgive 'er!"

Vanessa looked around, seeing Kelsey sitting on her bed, pulling on her sandals. Then she caught her gaze, and to her surprise, Kelsey smiled at her in a sort of compassionate way. Vanessa looked up at Adrian, who was looking from one to the other.

"Can you tell her... Um, can you say that I forgive her?"

Adrian grinned, tipping his cowboy hat as his head nodded.

"Why sho' nuff, little lady!"

Adrian walked another few steps to see if Lucas wanted sausages, but Vanessa spoke again.

"Does she like Gabe?"

Adrian turned back and put his smile back on. Then he walked over and sat down next to Vanessa, looked around to make sure no one was watching to closely, and said in a hushed voice,

"No, she doesn't. Actually, she likes Mark, we know that for sure, we jus' don' know why she won't admit it. So if yer having an emotional warfare over that there Gabe, don' worry, he's totally open. You might jus' have trouble convincin' him that Kelsey has another guy in mind."

Adrian winked and stood up, walking away. A little party went off inside Vanessa's head. Gabe was free! Plus, Kelsey had asked for her forgiveness! Now she had nothing to worry about! Vanessa found herself looking down at her book. Now that all those things were out of her mind, she kind of wanted to try out the powers of her magic book. She'd stopped calling it "Moby Dick", just because it didn't fit, and used her knowledge of Latin to call it Cantatis, which meant "enchanted".

She stood up, and almost everyone looked at her. She hadn't moved much ever since the incident with that plant creature Lalita, so they were surprised to see her up and about with a smile across her face. Mark was especially surprised. He was so surprised that he had to get up and approach her.

"Vanessa, are you ok? You're... Smiling."

Vanessa rolled her eyes and was about to say something, but Mark beat her to the punch.

"Aha! You're trying to sneak out and have fun! I knew it!"

Vanessa's cheeks went red and she walked back to her bed.

"No, I was just stretching." she flipped open Cantatis to somewhere random, putting on a very sophisticated look. "And now, I am going to read "Moby Dick" like I always do."

Vanessa opened up her book and began to read. Mark kept an eye on her as she read, making it hard for her to really sneak away. She spent a whole two hours reading, even though she knew the book by heart. Finally, Mark got bored and stood up to grab some lunch. As soon as his back was turned, Vanessa stood up, creeping to the other side of the room. Then she opened the door, and unfortunately for her, she forgot that it squeaked, and it let out a particularly LOUD on as she moved through it.

_"Oh no, please don't see me!"_

Thankfully, Mark had sneezed at that exact moment, and she ran out, closing it under the cover of his "achoo!" to hide the squeak. Vanessa grinned and ran out into the forest to hide. Once she was deep enough, she lifted Cantatis. She wanted to see all of what it could do. Vanessa imagined again that she was holding a shield, and the next moment Cantatis transformed entirely into red energy, expanding until it was ten times its size as a lightweight, glowing red knight's shield. She grinned, excitement forming in her stomach.

Then she imagined she had a large double-edged sword, and once again the solid red energy shifted in her hand to form a huge blade, which she still had no problem holding. Her grin widened and she started to slice her blade, pretending that she was fighting off invisible enemies. The blade sliced through trees like butter, and she laughed aloud. Then she whirled around in a circle to slice the trees behind him, immediately coming face-to-face with Mark.

"EEK!" she shrieked, falling backwards onto her hindquarters.

Mark leaned over her with a grin and said,

"Ahhhhhhhh, I knew it! You're having FUN! Vanessa, Queen Crumby, Miss Mulish, the Willful Woman, having FUN! Hahahahaha! I'm so proud!"

Vanessa grumbled, standing up immediately to brush herself off.

"So what?! So what if I'm having fun?! What does it matter?!" she yelled angrily, turning around to face the forest, her face getting hotter than ever.

She felt Mark give a playful punch to the shoulder.

"It does matter! You used to be stiff as a board! You're actually loosening up!"

"I WAS NOT... I'M NOT STIFF!"

Then all of a sudden, someone else spoke from nearby.

"Aha! I've FINALLY found you!"

Someone came through the trees into the open patch of grass. It was the person Vanessa expected the least: Eragariss! He'd been following them for days upon DAYS just to find Vanessa. He pointed a clammy finger at her through his cloak and shouted,

"You're the one who absorbed my Dark magic and turned it into Light energy! You're the one who shoved many of the Grief Squad around with that shield! I've been looking everywhere for you! And now that I'm here, I'd very much appreciate it if you'd give me that book of yours!"

Vanessa stood there for a moment, running the situation through her head. She had a Cantatis, but this Eragariss creep had his own magic. But then she remembered her mother's words: 'No matter what, in every situation the light will overcome dark, while the dark cannot completely swallow the light.'. Then she grimaced with a serious look, and took a step towards Eragariss. She tried to sound brave as she said,

"No. I can take you."

"Vanessa, what the heck are you doing?! He's got Dark magic!"

"I've got Light magic, Mark, I'll be fine."

Eragariss let out a high pitched fit of laughter, and then straightened up, extending both his clammy hands.

"Oh good! I was hoping you'd say that!"

Then he cupped his hands to his mouth and called out, saying,

"Oi! Brizarg! Jenx! We've got ourselves a fight!"

The next moment, a tall figure and a medium one came through the trees. The tall figure was recognized as Brizarg. He still had that blood-soaked foot-long dagger in his hand. Jenx was the medium one, and he had his diamond sword as well. Jenx's dark hood was pulled up to hide his Trollface-face. It made him look cooler, anyway. Brizarg came and whapped Eragariss on the back of the head.

"Idiot, you missed your signal! Jenx was supposed to come out first, raise his arms to signal us and have us come out! You totally ruined the formation!"

Eragariss hung his head and muttered,

"You know, you could stop hitting me so often, maybe then I'd cooperate..."

He just got another slap on the back of the head from Brizarg. Then Brizarg looked up and away from Eragariss, staring past Vanessa to look at Mark.

"It doesn't matter now, though. I just want to avenge my hand..."

Vanessa looked down and noticed that Brizarg's right hand was missing. Mark must've cut it off in their first battle with those goons. Mark walked forward and stood next to her.

"You're going to have to fight both of us, then."

Jenx laughed and walked forward, standing in between Brizarg and Eragariss.

"Yes, well, even with missing body parts, we've trained for this day. Now you don't have the rest of your friends to help you, so you're outnumbered, AND we have improved since last time!" each of them got into a fighting position. "Prepare to die, Mark and Vanessa Cobweb!"

Just then, "Creeping Death" by Metallica began to play all around them, and the battle began. Mark ran forward at Brizarg and Jenx with his blade in the air. Vanessa began to make her way towards Eragariss instead. Eragariss jerked his hands forward, shooting beams of Dark magic at her. Vanessa quickly pictured a shield in her mind, transforming her red sword into the red shield just in time to deflect the beams. When she positioned it right, she could make the beams bounce back at Eragariss.

But Eragariss fought this by shooting a long stream of black energy at Vanessa, which knocked her back a little. As the stream went from his hands to her shuddering shield, he began to walk slowly towards her.

The stream began to concentrate into Vanessa's shield harder and harder, and she was having a hard time holding onto it because of how much it was vibrating. She knew she'd have to break the Dark stream somehow, but just a shield wasn't enough to deflect it. Eragariss was only five blocks away now, and though he advanced slowly, the stream just got more and more violent.

_"Think! Think! Use that huge brain of yours, Vanessa!"_ she thought to herself.

Suddenly, a brilliant idea came to her mind at the last second, and Vanessa imagined herself carrying a gigantic mirror. It did the trick, because when she transformed the shield into a huge red mirror the Dark stream was instantly repelled, and it blasted Eragariss straight-on. He went flying and screaming into a tree twenty blocks away and landed in a smoking pile of robes in the grass. But he stood up the next moment, cracking his neck from side to side. Vanessa even caught sight of two gleaming red eyes underneath the darkness of the hood, and she shivered. He started towards Vanessa, declaring,

"Alright! Enough defensive fighting!"

He raised his hands, both of them close together, gripping something invisible. Then the hidden object materialized in his hands. It was a huge black katana. It had the Chinese symbols 死亡 written in what looked like glowing blood, positioned near the tip of the black blade. Being the intellectual dweeb she was, Vanessa understood that they meant "death" in Chinese. She shivered a little, but then focused on swords, and transformed Cantatis the shield into that giant, red, double-edged sword.

Eragariss zoomed forward with lots of speed, twirling his long katana over his head. At the same time, Vanessa felt some energy from her sword flow into her, and she felt her legs moving forward with incredible speed. Then their two swords met, showering both owners with a torrent of red and black sparks. Vanessa wasn't sure how she pulled it off, but it was some kind of new muscle-memory that made her arms swing this way and that with amazing speed similar to Eragariss's. At one point they both jumped back. Vanessa was very pleased to see that Eragariss was panting.

"Oho! I see I've got a challenge, here! I should have been able to spread you like the butter of defeat on my roll of evil, but... I guess I haven't been trying hard enough!" he muttered.

Vanessa watched as Eragariss gripped his sword with both hands tightly. Then, from out of the bottom of the dark handle came another long black blade with the same Chinese symbol at the end. Now he was holding a double-bladed katana. In her head, Vanessa realized that Eragariss could imagine whatever he wanted, but so could she. So, what if she imagined something that would defeat him before he could do anything else?

So instead of cowering, Vanessa just smiled. In her head she imagined a gigantic mallet. Once it formed in her hand, she brought it down, landing it smack on Eragariss's head. When she brought it back up, she was pleased to see that Eragariss was flattened into the ground, his Dark magic katana in many black pieces nearby. All Eragariss could do was give a couple of pained noises.

"Urk... Ow... Darn... It... Curse... You..."

Vanessa heard a shout to her left and turned, seeing that Mark was having trouble fending off both Jenx and Brizarg at the same time. Jenx had just raised his diamond sword to stab Mark from above when Vanessa swung sideways with her gigantic red mallet, which collided with both of the cloaked figures, sending them flying away and into the trees. Vanessa ran over to Mark, who was crouched on the ground, catching his breath.

"Took you long enough... Whew!" he muttered.

Then he looked around and said,

"What happened to Eragariss?"

She helped Mark up and led him to the hole in the ground that Eragariss was embedded in.

"I flattened him with a mallet."

Mark grinned, and then shook his head.

"Ah man, that's great." he clapped her on the back, nearly knocking her over. "You've got some spirit deep in there, kid."

Suddenly, they heard a shout from ten or so blocks away and looked that way to see Jenx and Brizarg coming back through the trees. They shouted out,

"We will report back to Lord Glitch about this!"

Vanessa and Mark exchanged looks, but then Vanessa shut her eyes and imagined a huge crossbow. It formed in her hands the next moment, and she aimed a large arrow at the two cloaked figures nearby, shooting an arrow tied to a long string at Jenx. Jenx moved out of the way easily, though, and the giant arrow with its trail of string lodged into the tree behind them. Jenx turned and shouted,

"Ha! You missed!"

Then Vanessa pulled back, and the tree with the arrow in it fell over, landing right on top of Jenx and Brizarg. She ran forward and formed a huge red crowbar, which she bent around the tree, lodging both ends into the dirt, magicking it to stick that way no matter what. Then she turned to Mark and said,

"Let's go get Rexum; he can take care of them."

So they both ran back to their house—Vanessa was panting by the time they reached the door, because now that she no longer was holding Cantatis all that new energy had gone from her. They burst through the door with a bang, and Rexum jerked away next to them.

"What is all the noise?!" he demanded, turning on them a scowl.

"Rexum! There are three Grief Squad Members out in the forest that attacked us, and Vanessa beat them up and stuff, and we need you to go and deal with them!"

Rexum stood up immediately rushing out the door towards the woods. He darted through the trees like no regular old man could manage, his staff held at his side. The he stopped in the open patch of grass. Vanessa grabbed his wizened hand and led him to where she'd flattened Eragariss.

"Quick! He's over... Here?"

But in the hole where Eragariss used to be was empty space with just his outline.

"But... He was just here! I flattened him into this hole!"

Then they lead him over to the spot where they'd pinned the tree to the ground with Cantatis in crowbar form. The huge crowbar was gone, just leaving the tree fallen on the ground. Rexum twirled his staff to lift it up from the ground. Underneath were two imprints of Jenx and Brizarg. All three of the cloaked men were gone, vanished, completely fled from the scene. Suddenly, Vanessa slapped her forehead and said,

"Oh no! I never thought about Eragariss! He probably used his Dark magic to get rid of the crowbar! They've gone to report to that Glitch thing, and now Cantatis is stolen, probably gone forever!"

* * *

_"So... Once again you have failed me..."_

At that moment, Jenx, Brizarg and Eragariss were standing with their heads lowered in front of the Glitch, who sat upon its black throne. It still had complete control of the Void Palace and its numbers. Even so, the Glitch was still extremely angered when it found out that the three of the cloaked men had failed to kill or at least capture Mark and his friends, much less steal the Balance Core. Jenx stepped forward and bowed, saying,

"Our deepest apologies, Lord Glitch. We would have been able to ambush them if it were not for Eragariss's mistake, for he blew our cover quite immediately to bring himself attention."

Brizarg smacked the back of Eragariss's head for the millionth time, and Eragariss just sniffled.

"I... Didn't mean to blow our cover." he murmured.

The Glitch folded its gigantic black wings and muttered,

_"Your personal intentions do not matter, all that is of importance is that you do the job RIGHT! And what did you do?! I am certain that what you did isn't what I call RIGHT!"_

Eragariss backed up and said,

"Yes... Yes Lord Glitch, I shall not fail you again."

_"See that your promise doesn't go unfulfilled..."_ then the Glitch looked from Jenx to Brizarg to Eragariss and then back again. "I expect that you three do not fail me again. The consequences will be severe if you do."

All three of them bowed, chiming in with "yes Lord Glitch". Then Brizarg remembered something and reached into his sleeve, pulling out a thick leather-bound book glowing with red light. It was Cantatis.

"Oh yes, we also found this."

The Glitch looked at the book for a moment, observing it closely.

"We know it has a lot of power, but we don't know exactly what the source is. We think that it absorbed some of Eragariss's Dark magic and turned it into Light magic."

But just then, right before their eyes, Cantatis became shrouded in a thick red mist, and it cleared the moment later, only the book had disappeared from Brizarg's hand. The Glitch looked dumbfounded—it was actually kind of hard to tell since the Glitch only had eyes and a mouth.

_"What happened?! Where did the book go?!"_

* * *

Vanessa sat on the bed with Mark, who had a comforting arm around her.

"Don't worry, when we find the Glitch I swear I'll get the book back."

Just then, Vanessa grunted in pain as something heavy dropped on her head. It fell onto the bedspread in front of her, bouncing slightly on the springy mattress. It was Cantatis! She grabbed the book and said,

"How did this get here?"

She was overcome by joy, and she almost missed Mark saying,

"I guess that book of yours has the magic ability to teleport to its owner. It probably didn't want to be held by those clammy fingers anymore, so it disappeared."

At that moment, everyone else in the house—except Rexum, who stayed standing in the corner, just watching. They all wanted to know what exactly happened. So Vanessa repeated the whole story, starting with her going into the woods to test Cantatis's abilities all the way to them coming back with Rexum to find them all gone.

When she was talking about flattening Eragariss with a mallet, Adrian burst out laughing, slapping his knee a couple times. It could've possibly been Vanessa's best night ever—or at least apart from the one where she went to a national spelling bee and won first place. She went to bed that night wondering about her life, thinking that maybe she'd been wasting her whole life sitting alone in her comfort zone. In fact, she fell asleep thinking that maybe she didn't want to live the rest of her life with her nose buried in the pages of a book. Maybe she'd follow Mark for a change.

* * *

Day 6: Whirlpool Alley (Rexum's POV)

Morning came, and Rexum was already troubled. He'd been sensing something dangerous all night, ruining his nightly meditation sequence. He decided that he would meditate for the entire day, just in case there were things he would have to prepare for tomorrow on their last day of rest. Visions could come at any moment, so Rexum positioned himself comfortably on top of his ice-cold Eyestone—the cold didn't bother him, actually—and closed his eyes, allowing himself to fall asleep instantly. He had five visions.

* * *

_The First Vision..._

He was standing in a strange dark castle of some sort. Everything was moving, the floors, the ceiling, the walls, and it was hard to navigate his way through. He could see something glowing at the other end, and he was determined to reach it, but every time he looked down he could only see the gaping holes that would send him plummeting to his death.

He continued to jump from shifting black platform to the next, but he had to move quickly, because he started to sink through. Finally, though, he made it to the other side and started to run towards the white glow in the distance. But then, the floor in front of him rose up and formed a gigantic shifting blob of that black matter. Before Mark could react, it opened its great red eyes and mouth and screeched. Then, it extended two massive black wings and launched forward, consuming him in an agonizing blast of cold and dark.

* * *

_The Second Vision_

He found himself standing in that dark room with shifting floors again, only he was on the other side. He ran towards the light at the other end, but then the light turned red and two silhouettes appeared floating in front of the light. Both silhouettes were human bodies, one smaller than the other. Both were suspended like puppets, and then the smaller one twitched and opened its eyes. It had glowing red eyes.

But then, the silhouette puppet-like body went limp and fell to the ground in front of him with an echoing crack, turning into Lucas. But now, Lucas's figure was bent and twisted and bloody, and Rexum saw Mark standing over the body nearby, and he was watching in horror as it disintegrated into many black particles of plasma, which swirled around, fading away into the cold air.

The second silhouette opened its eyes, revealing glowing red eyes again. Then it fell to the ground and turned into the broken figure of Gabe, broken and scarred and bloody. That body also disintegrated into plasma, but this time it was glowing white, also swirling up and fading into the cold air.

Then all of a sudden, he heard an unearthly buzz come from the red light in front of him and the light changed, swirling from red to instead black and white. From out of the black light appeared two evil red eyes, and then two glowing blue from the other. Rexum watched as the two pairs of eyes glared down at Mark, who still stood in fear nearby. They both looked at the figure that was Mark for only a second, and then he heard a voice in his head say,

_"CHOOSE!"_

* * *

_The Third Vision_

Rexum could in front of him that Mark was standing in a dark room, and the only light was from a fountain of lava in the very center. Mark could hear something moving in the dark that lay ahead, and his curiosity overcame him, so he moved towards the noise, and Rexum followed. Soon it was too dark to see anything, so he placed a torch that was in his hand. As the light flared up he watched Mark scream and back up, for staring angrily at him were three larger-than-life cave spiders, all three of them pitch black with blood-gushing red eyes. Clearly they were mutated, because the blood that oozed from their eyes was eating away at the floor, creating a gap between Mark and the spiders.

But the worst part was that Rexum could see Mark's expression, since could see Vanessa, Lucas and Bonbon all tied to the stone wall with sticky cobwebs. Their eyes were gouged out and bites were all over their faces, all of them oozing black gunk. Suddenly, the dead bodies of his friends all turned to look at Mark, and he wanted to scream out for help, but the cold of the room clouded his lungs, and all he could do was keep his mouth in a horrible gape. In his shock he fell backwards, but instead of falling onto stone he found himself being burned away by the black blood oozing from the cave spiders' eyes. While he was in pain and immobilized on the ground, the middle cave spider launched forward towards him with its great fanged mouth open and...

* * *

_The Fourth Vision_

Rexum walked down a dark hallway. There was absolutely nothing in it, except he knew he was walking on stone. The hood of his green robes was pulled over his head, hiding his eyes, but he didn't need to see to know what he was doing. He heard pounding at the other end of the hallway, but he ignored it casually. Then he came into a room, very small with only one redstone torch placed next to the doorway. In the center of the room was a glass tank. Mark was pounding from the inside, trying to break the glass, but Rexum knew it was enchanted.

He looked to the side at a lever sitting on a block of stone, next to it sat a circuit of redstone the stretched into the wall. He had to do this... He had to, it would save the universe from utter destruction... Then he flipped the lever into the "off" position, extinguishing the redstone's glow, and watched as water flowed down over Mark in the tank. Mark struggled, pounding harder until he ran out of breath, drowning. Rexum walked out of the room once Mark had lost his life, exiting into the dark hallway, knowing that what he did was for the best...

* * *

_The Fifth Vision_

Rexum found himself staring into something like a pane of glass. Then the glass turned reflective and a live-action scene appeared before him. He saw a colossal squid the size of a tall jungle tree poking its many tentacles—he counted twenty—out of the water, swirling them into a circle to create a raging vortex in the foamy water. He watched as several figures were sucked into waters, but he couldn't tell who they were. Then the image zoomed in on one of them.

It showed Mark, drenched from head to toe, holding tight onto Mr. Pig, both of them swirling around and around until finally, they were sucked down through the hole. Then the rest of the figures fell in the next few moments, and the colossal squid brought its many tentacles down into the water with a splash, destroying the balance of the vortex.

* * *

Then Rexum awoke. He looked around frantically, and only saw Vanessa, who was sitting on her bed, flipping through Cantatis. He stood up immediately and said,

"Where are the others?!"

Vanessa jumped and looked up at Rexum. She was always a bit jittery when he addressed her directly.

"They went to the beach, it was Mark's idea, and... Well..." she hesitated for a bit. "He said that he was going into Whirlpool Alley!"

Rexum quickly grabbed his golden oak staff and said,

"We need to go."

"We?" asked Vanessa, standing up.

As Rexum was heading out the door he said,

"Oh yes, you have your own bit of magic, do you not?"

Vanessa was now nodding her head up and down excitedly, a nervous smile spread across her face.

"Y-yes sir!"

"Then follow me..." aid Rexum.

As Rexum walked through the door he heard Vanessa give an excited little squeal. He just hoped that she and that book of hers would be of some use. Then again, with their daily meditating exercises, she hasn't failed to impress him.

They ran across the grass, and then they found themselves running into the sand. Without even stopping, Rexum twirled his staff in midair, creating a golden cloud, which he leapt onto, soaring on it over the surface of the water. He heard a splashing noise behind him and turned to see Vanessa hollering as she zoomed along, riding the foamy waves on a glowing red surfing board. They only had to travel for a few seconds—considering their speed—until they reached it: Whirlpool Alley. Really, it was just an empty space of water surrounded by lots of small whirlpools. But Rexum knew exactly what was going to happen. He turned to Vanessa, who just sat there on her glowing red surfboard.

"Vanessa, stand up. Don't lower your guard, any moment now, a colossal squid with twenty tentacles will come out of the water, so get ready to battle!"

Vanessa turned in time to shout,

"Wait, what?!"

As if on cue, there was a loud squelching sound, and twenty gigantic tentacles shot out of the water, one from each of the twenty mini-whirlpools surrounding the patch of water. Then they swirled around and around, and that was Rexum's cue. He flew up on his golden cloud towards the middle of the space in between the gigantic circle of swirling tentacles, right above the hole of the largest whirlpool. Vanessa transformed Cantatis into a flying catapult and rose up out of the force of the vortex. Rexum turned and shouted,

"You realize that I have far greater magic power than you, Vanessa! So what I need you to do is find the weakest tentacle! It has a large yellow suction cup, the only yellow one here! You must find it and blast it with everything you have while I destroy the other nineteen tentacles!"

She turned to looked at him and said,

"You sure you can handle nineteen of these things?!"

"Yes! Just do as I say! Here they come!"

Rexum looked up at the wave of tentacles surrounding him, each of them easily twenty blocks long. He swirled his staff in a circle, letting a whip of gold glitter flow from out of it until it was over sixty blocks long. As tentacles came at him, he snapped his whip, keeping them at a good distance. He took a glance over his shoulder to see four tentacles going after Vanessa, so he whipped those as well, making sure to keep them off her.

A few more minutes of brutal brawling later, Vanessa shouted,

"Rexum! I got it! I shot the yellow suction cup!"

Rexum turned around and saw a tentacle in front of Kelsey with a smoldering hole burned right through one of its suction cups, which was indeed yellow. Or at least, was yellow before it was completely annihilated. Rexum grabbed Vanessa's hand and pulled her onto his cloud, so she turned Cantatis into its normal book form.

"Let's go, we've got to get into the whirlpool before it closes."

The next moment they were dropping like a stone through air, plummeting towards the hole of the massive soon-to-disappeared whirlpool below them. Then they entered the hole, and after a few seconds the water above them caught up and fell over them, submerging them in the ocean. Then it was quiet. Rexum focused his mind, and a bubble of gold liquid appeared around them, allowing them to breath. Vanessa landed on the slippery surface a moment later, saying,

"So, where's the colossal squid?"

Rexum looked around at the dark waters, and suddenly spotted a dull glow beneath them. He stepped off of his golden catapult onto the bubble and said,

"Below us is the monster's cave. I deeply hope that Mark and the others haven't been eaten."

Vanessa made a little noise behind him.

"Eaten?!"

"Yes, the colossal squid was probably quite pleased when it came across what it thought was a nice meal..."

Rexum lifted his staff up and thrust it downward, and the bubble began to sink deeper into the dark ocean. The dull glow beneath them began to get closer and closer, until finally they could see a large cave sitting on the ocean floor, a light similar to Glowstone coming from its mouth. Rexum steered their protective bubble up to the mouth of the cave and peered inside.

It was basically just a gigantic room made of stone, only there was a HUGE fountain in the middle, and it was just overflowed with squids, which were packed together like sardines in the water. Rexum kept them hovering at the mouth of the cave and muttered,

"Where is that squid..."

As if on cue, a gigantic tentacle came hurtling at them from behind, which collided with the bubble, sending them flying inside of it into the wall at the back of them room. The bubble popped at it hit the wall, sending Rexum and Vanessa onto the floor in a soapy mess. Rexum held up his staff just in time to blast another tentacle away. More tentacles appeared from behind the fountain, and so Vanessa helped Rexum in destroying them. Then the yellow tentacle appeared, and when it got blasted, yet another one of the suction cups was burned through entirely, leaving it with only three more giant suction cups. The tentacles retreated behind the fountain. Then, silence.

... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Then there was a rumble that cut through the silence. Out from behind the fountain came a gigantic pair of milky-white squid eyes, followed by a gigantic red body. The colossal squid rose up until it touched the ceiling, giving it a height of twenty whole blocks, and that wasn't including the tentacles.

There was a strange squeaking/gurgling sound that came from the fountain of squids, and the next moment they all jumped from the water of the fountain, falling in a shower onto Rexum and Vanessa. Rexum raised his staff to create a golden tornado, which magically tossed the squids towards their master. But the colossal squid formed a shield with its tentacles, and the cloud of flying squids was scattered across the cave floor.

Then the colossal squid raised its tentacles, and curled inside of them... It was Mark, Kelsey, Gabe, Lucas and Adrian! All of them were shouting for help, but being the ravenous creature it was, the colossal squid didn't take pleas lightly.

Vanessa transformed Cantatis into her huge double-edged sword and ran forward, energy surging through her whole body.

"LET GO OF MY BROTHER!"

She jumped into the air and swung her blade, completely slicing two tentacles in half, and the colossal squid let out a strange noise, lunging forward with its other tentacles. Rexum thrust his staff, forming a golden shield around her for protection. The tentacles smashed furiously, but they did only enough to make the barrier shudder. Vanessa sliced two more tentacles in half. The next moment, when the colossal squid lunged forward Rexum saw that the tentacle with the yellow suction cups was coming at her from the left.

"Vanessa! Yellow sucker to your left!" he shouted.

Vanessa turned and saw it coming just in time, and she stabbed forward through another one of the yellow suction cups. Now there was only one more left for them to hit. But the colossal squid must've learned its lesson, because immediately it retracted, and its tentacles curled around it until that was all you could see. It was obviously going on the defensive side. Then the squid mess flopping around on the floor began to take action, because the next moment all the tentacle creatures flew up from the floor and surrounded their master, forming something like a gigantic shell.

Rexum called up to Vanessa, saying,

"Vanessa!"

She looked down at him from inside her golden box.

"Yes?"

"In order to defeat this thing before it eats the others, we'll have to combine our powers and perform the _Miscere Potestatem_ spell!"

Vanessa, being very strong in Latin, said,

"Doesn't that mean "combine power"? How would we do that?"

Rexum raised his golden oak staff, creating that glittering trail, which plucked Cantatis the double-edged sword from Vanessa's hands. It turned back into a book, and then opened, pressing itself over the knotted top of the staff. There was a bolt of red and gold that bounced from the book to the staff, and a bond seemed to have been created. When Rexum brought the staff to the floor, Cantatis was hovering around it, that little lightning bolt of color connecting them. He raised the staff and brought Vanessa back down to the ground, eliminating the barriers around her. Then he held out the staff sideways, saying,

"Grip one end." he said.

Vanessa did as she was told and took the top end of the staff while Rexum took the knotted end. Then he began to mutter the _Miscere Potestatem_ incantation.

_"Mogrue berghka jendu iksam..."_

Then there was another flash of light, and the staff exploded with a blast of energy, knocking them both onto the ground. The energy ball of gold and red zoomed at the colossal squid covered with the squid horde, creating a MASSIVE explosion. The monster squealed as its squid shield disintegrated, and it flailed its many burned tentacles. Rexum quickly got to his feet and pulled Vanessa up with him, and they both gripped onto the staff with Cantatis still twirling around it, and blasted another ball of red/gold energy. This one zoomed at the yellow tentacle hidden amongst the other flailing limbs of the creature, and landed spot-on the last yellow sucker.

The colossal squid froze in place behind the giant fountain, light streaming from out of its two eyes. Then, with a massive rumble, it exploded into a gigantic blob of guts and tentacles, flopping onto the floor in a messy mountain. Cantatis disconnected from Rexum's golden oak staff and landed back in Vanessa's hands. Rexum watched as she ran forward, shouting out,

"Mark! Hello?! You in there?!"

She slipped her way through the pile of tentacles and guts and blood, lifting things to try and find her brother. Then he appeared, lifting his head out from under another tentacle next to the fountain. Vanessa ran to him and caught him off-guard in a hug, wet and splashed with tentacle slime.

"Mark, what the heck were you thinking?! Why'd you come into Whirlpool Alley even after Rexum said it wasn't safe?!"

Mark blinked and wiped his face off with his sleeve—which really only made him dirtier. Then he looked around and said,

"I didn't ask to come here! It was all Lucas's idea!"

At this, Rexum walked forward and raised his staff, sending out a trail of golden glitter. The trail weaved in and out of the remains of the colossal squid, when finally they pulled something out of the pile—it was Lucas, who was hanging by the seat of his pants from the magic trail.

"Heyheyheyheyhey! Let me down!" he protested, swinging uselessly at the stream of gold.

Lucas was plopped down in front of Rexum, who crossed his arms and stared at Lucas with anger, his icy eyes absolutely piercing.

"What have you done?! I believe I prohibited you all from accessing Whirlpool Alley! After all I have done to protect you, you have gone out and nearly gotten yourself and everyone else killed! I am so disappointed in you!"

A few moments later, Kelsey, Gabe and Adrian began to pop up in a dizzied state from under the tentacle pile, slipping down its slope to the stone floor. As Kelsey came down the slope, she tripped and landed on her back on the stone floor, knocking the wind from her. Mark rushed forward and reached out a long arm, lifting her to her feet. She blushed and said,

"Er... Thanks."

Then their eyes met, and it was obvious that Mark's lips were forming words. Then they came out quietly the next moment...

"You're... You've..."

"Yeah?" murmured Kelsey, her green eyes shining.

He pointed to her hair and said,

"Y-you've got a squid eye in your hair..."

There was a silence, and somewhere next to their group Adrian muttered,

"Awkward..."

Kelsey flipped her slimy hair and flung the squid eye from her head. The silence continued for another few seconds, but then Rexum stepped in and said in an angered voice,

"Everyone, we're going back to the house; I require a word with all of you."

Nobody spoke as they floated away from the cave and up to the surface of the water inside the golden bubble. When they landed at the front door, Rexum took one more look at them, sighed, and then turned back to open up the squeaking door. They filed in and sat down on their heads—the thoughts of ruining clean bedspreads didn't seem to occur.

Rexum lectured them for another two hours. Yes, two hours of him talking sent mostly everyone to a sleepy state. Finally, near the end he said something that snapped them awake.

"Despite how mad I am, I know that tomorrow is our last day," they all looked up at him with surprised looks. The week had gone by way too fast for everyone. "So I expect that you all have a satisfying party before we are required to leave."

Their eyes widened, and then Mark stood up and said,

"But aren't you, like, gonna punish us or something?"

Rexum nodded slowly and said quietly,

"If this were not a special occasion, I would surely punish you all. But, I know that depriving you of pleasure right before we leave on our long journey would be nothing less than cruel and unusual punishment, which I cannot force myself to do..."

They all whooped with excitement and exchanged high-fives, fist bumps and even some chest bumps. It was only when Gabe nearly crushed Mark after attempting to chest-bump him did Rexum stop them from going any crazier with excitement.

"But, I still must take into account that it is no longer safe for you to go out tonight. You must stay in the house for the rest of the day; may that be enough of a punishment."

It was only a bit after noon, and they still had a lot of daylight to cover, but everyone was so pumped for the next morning that nobody cared. They basically just made plans for the rest of the day while Rexum walked back to his Eyestone near the door. He would not be partying, not when there were so many things troubling him...

* * *

**Woah! I'd totally be annoyed if I were in Rexum's position. After ALL he's done to keep them safe, they still go out and do things dangerous? How dare they... Heheheheheh, it's definitely my fault. X33333**

**Anyway, now I introduce to you: QAA!"**

**To the Glitch: You a brony? I bet you like the character Discord. Yep, your guilty face proves it. You are a brony. :3 I no ur secret.**

The Glitch: How dare you say such a ridiculous accusation! I am a supreme being of death, I have no time to invest time in such idiotic activities such as the My Little Pony franchise! And a message to Discord: SUCK EGGS, DINGALING! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

**To the Fourth Wall Repairman: Sorry.** **:( */give f_w_r_m forcefield, new fourth wall, new hammer***

Fourth Wall Repairman: Thanks! *takes hammer in hand and says,* Break the fourth wall for just a moment. *you break the fourth wall without even trying, and the fourth wall repairman walks over, tapping the remains, sending them flying together to create a brand-new wall* It works like a charm! Let me know if I can help you anytime! :D

**To Kelsey: Mark wants your virginity. He wants to rape you, so here is a Minecraft condom. :0**

Kelsey: You are such a jerk! *stomps away, burning with anger, and chucks the condom at your face*

**To Vanessa: When was the last time you had fun?**

Vanessa: Oh right! Probably when I was facing that colossal squid with Rexum.

**To Da Glitch: ME AN OLD CODGER! I'M 22! Since when is that old?! Don't make me put my diamond boomerang through your mass!**

Da Glitch: FO SHO FOOL! 'SHOO DOIN GOIN 'ROUND CALLIN PEOPLE CODGERS?! YOU SO DA FILTY OLE CODGER! YOU DA FILTIEST OLE CODGER I EVER MET, FOOL! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

**To the Fourth Wall Repairman: How do you fix the fourth wall with only glue?**

The Fourth Wall Repairman: It's magic glue, obviously, and it's called Wall Glue, so... It usually does the job, but lately it's been almost nothing to me.

**To Everyone: Everyone, you are all cool, but not you Glitch, you my friend suck.**

Mark: Aww yeah! *brofist*

Vanessa: I... I'm c-cool? Y-you mean it? *cups hands to her mouth and shouts,* Hey Mark! Here that?! I'm cool!

Kelsey: Oh good, I... I was always the odd one out at school. You know, I got lots of dumb nicknames and jerks were everywhere, just always pushing me around. It means a lot for me to be called cool, so thank you. :)

Gabe: Oh, no need to call me such things. I prefer to think of myself as more of a gentleman, if you will.

Adrian: Well, sho' 'nuff, partner! ;D

Lucas: Oh stop it, you! ^-^

Rexum: I am not cool, I am just psychic.

The Glitch: _HOW DARE YOU?! HOW DAAAAAAARE YOOOOOOUUUUUU?! I SHALL FIND YOU AND CONSUME YOUR FAMILY LIKE RAISINS! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! RAAAAISINS! MWAAAAAAAHAAAAAAAHAAAAAAAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!_

Salutem: I appreciate the support, I really am in a tight spot; those viruses are getting closer to my hiding place as we speak. *glances around nervously*

The Mastermind: Eeheehee! Well, I do hope that you continue with, mmhmmhmmhmm, those feelings. I always enjoy company! Eeheeheeheeheehee!

The Spherical Specter: _COOL, YOU SAY? HMMM, I WAS HAVING THOUGHTS OF CURSING YOU, BUT NOW I THINK DIFFERENTLY... HMMMMMMM..._

Mickey: _You like me I'm cool? I love you now because you are nice and you are cool too. :3_

Bonbon: Oh yes! Oh yes! I am so happy being cool! I love you! I love you and my Master Lucas! You are both cool and I love you both!

Ridere: Hissssssssssssssssssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. ..

Clamatis: Hisssssssssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhsssssssssss hhhhhhhhhhh...

Felix: Cool? I am nothing more than a man's steed, I live to serve, not to be... Cool, is it?

Lalita: I am glad I am cool, I guess. I still wish Kelsey had kept her promise and came back every day... *sniffles* I want to go see her right now.

Squid Horde: SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEORK!

Colossal Squid: SQUEEGLESQUEORKSQUORKLESQUUUUUEEEEEEK!

Matilda: Aha! So the Spherical Specter is wrong again! He says I'm nothing more than a witch, but that is SO not true.

Amelia: I wanna be cool! Thank you so much! Is Missus Kelsey cool too? Can we be cool together? Pleeeeeeaaaaase?

Notch: Thank you; everyone has always thought that I was the stiff brother and that Herobrine was the cool one. :/

Norman: Yeah, well, after saving the universe, it's pretty much impossible to NOT be cool.

Lizzy: I agree with Norman; we probably have our own fan club in Minecraftia by now. :3

Danny: Yeah, yeah, I know, I'm pretty cool. I mean, EVERYBODY knows that; I'm way cooler than that Noobman ever was.

Quinn: Dude, I was, like, born to be cool, man. I strive for coolness and stuff. Yeahhhh...

Bailey: That's sweet of you! :D

Fourth Wall Repairman: Cool... Yeah right, you're just buttering me up so you can break the fourth wall again and expect mercy. I'm not fooled! :(

**To the Fourth Wall Repairman: 1. What is your name? 2. Since we are talking to you wouldn't we (by that I mean all of us and you) be breaking the fourth wall of the fourth wall? Or would it be the fifth wall of the fourth wall?**

Fourth Wall Repairman: My real name is Phil Drake. And also, I'd love to explain the theoretical physics of the different walls separating reality and everything else in the universe, but honestly, I still have work to do. Sorry, kid. :/

**To Mark: Use the horse, Mark! Use the hoooorseeeeee!**

Mark: That's an awesome idea1 Maybe then she'll tell me about her true feelings. I feel a lot better about it now that I've realized that thing with her intentions. *goes off into the woods to find Elmer*

**To Kelsey: On a scale of pig to master chief how cute do you find Mark?**

Kelsey: Oh, easily master chief! He's tall and handsome... And... *sniffles a little* I can't talk anymore. *walks off quietly*

**To the Glitch: Mark is so annoying. I shall destroy him.** **MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA**

**Alright, but for next time, how will our heroes spend their last day? What on Minecraftia was Mark thinking when he set off with his friends for Whirlpool Alley? Also, what the Poptart is going on between Lucas and Gabe, for crying out loud?! But for now, this is Pastrinator64, and I'll see you later with chapter numbah fourteen!**

***throws sugar bomb, disappears in a cloud of fine white sugar***

**Byyyyyeeeeee...**

**~Pastrinator64 [~]**


	14. Chapter 14: Just One Week (Day 7)

**Hello, this is Pastrinator64 with the fourteenth chapter from VOiD. Just for the record, I would have posted it earlier this morning, but my old-as-dirt computer took a half hour to reboot and stuff, so it just took forever. Anywho, how about some more replies to reviews?**

Replies To Reviews

**Kyle McShade: **What first paragraph? The first few sentences don't really count as a paragraph, so what are you referring to, exactly? Actually, I'll just PM you later. ;)

**YoshiEmblem: **Oh yeah, it was great! Lots of engineering stuff—which is EXACTLY what I love. :D

**Enderdude: **Nah, I just wanted Rexum and Vanessa to have a sorta tag-team magic battle, and that's what I got.

**CSICreeper: **I can understand that. I'll be honest, I don't have anything against squids, but it seemed like that was the perfect monster to be in Whirlpool Alley.

**Volcanic the hedgehog: **Really? What a coincidence! :D

**Somebody10101: **I'll just say that the visions that both Rexum and Mark get NEVER lie, but the way they play out isn't always exactly how they are watched. Does that make sense?

**Nwinds: **I'll just answer your questions in order... 1. I was SO waiting for her to get in a mallet, it was ideal for me to just throw that in. XD 2. I did fix that, I guess I didn't realize I was putting both of their names in there. It was Rexum who jumped from platform to platform, but he was actually watching Mark inside the vision. 3. Should I take that as a compliment or an insult? :/ 4. I don't always break the fourth wall, but when I do I make sure the characters know they're doing it. That it? No more questions? Alright then.

**Enderwolf: **No, I've never actually seen a Skydoesminecraft video (although I still know all about Skydoesminecraft and his obsession over budder and being hateful towards squids) because my PARENTS are super-ultra protective over everything that I do on the computer. Like, I don't even get through to YouTube anymore! It sucks buckets... I have seen some of his videos, actually, at my best friend's house, though.

**Right-o! Now then, let us get on with the story!**

**Hello, this is Pastrinator64 with another chapter from VOiD. Last time on VOiD we watched from Vanessa's point of view as she went off on a secret walk that only was spoiled by Mark, who found out that she had been trying to sneak off to have fun, which was the last thing he ever expected from her. But, while on the walk, the two of them ran into three familiar hooded figures: Brizarg, Eragariss and Jenx. After flattening all three of them in under a half hour, Mark and Vanessa went back to the house. The next day, we watched from Rexum's point of view as he received five very strange and mysterious visions, the final one resulting in him running off to the beach and into the water towards Whirlpool Alley. There he and Vanessa battled a colossal squid, entered its cave, and then beat it up a second time. They saved the others from a terribly slimy death that day, but due to their disobedience, Rexum kept them in the house for the rest of the day. On the bright side, the next day was their last day of rest, so they'd be having a HUGE party! You want to see the party? Then READ ON!**

**Now, let the story commence!**

* * *

_Chapter 14: Just One Week (Day 7)_

Day 7-7: A Bittersweet Symphony (Back To Mark's POV)

Then it came: the final day of their week of rest. The entire week was so full of exhausting activity, so nobody really got that much rest. It was basically just a break from walking...

But now it was the final day, and they only had 24 hours to cram in as much fun as possible. Mark—after watching SpongeBob's House Party over and over—knew exactly what kind of party it would have to be. There'd be awesome food, contests, MUSIC—that was a given—and lots of other random stuff. Plus, Mark was planning something else as well. It would break the fourth wall for sure, and the fourth wall repairman would have to appear, but if it meant winning Kelsey, he was eager to do it.

The whole morning was basically for him to set up a checklist of things they'd be doing, not in any particular order, though.

_Stuff To Do_

_1. Porkchop eating contest_

_2. Dance like crazy to EPICSAUCE music_

_3. Rant on about how dumb some things are (like kid shows, for instance)_

_4. Swimming_

_5. Roasting cocoa pods over campfire_

_6. Movie_

_7. For me: bring out "secret weapon" to Kelsey_

After writing several other things on his list, Mark was finished. Although, he felt his spirits dampen when he realized that some of these things would require Rexum's powers to summon, like the music and the movie. It's not like he could find those things in the real world of Minecraft anyway, not unless he wanted to find a mod somewhere.

So, he took a deep breath and stood up from his bed. Everyone else was milling around in the cabin looking restless. Mark approached Rexum who was meditating on his Eyestone. Even as he approached, Mark could feel the freezing air pulsing from the Eyestone. He shivered at the thought of how cold it must've been to sit on it like that. He cleared his throat, and Rexum instantly opened his eyes.

"Er, Rexum?" the old wizard just looked at him, staff balanced atop his head. "Well, I was, um, I was wondering, uh, if you'd, if, um, if you'd lend us some of, er, uh, your magic. Yeah."

Rexum raised an eyebrow and said,

"If you wish to summon other things besides the normal elements of the world of Minecraft, why don't you ask Vanessa? Every magic being in Minecraftia, whether possessing Light or Dark magic, has a special connection with the Spirits In Between, the supreme beings that control all dimensions."

Mark felt like he'd just thrown a weight from his shoulders. He sighed with relief and said,

"Oh, thanks! I totally forgot!"

He rushed off to find Vanessa sitting on her bed. She was reading Cantatis at the moment. He noticed that she still had that severe look when she read, but he figured she'd never be able to get rid of it. She looked up when he approached.

"Hey Vanessa,"

And he explained about her magic connection with the Spirits In Between.

"So, you want me to summon a bunch of stuff for the party?" she asked when he was finished.

Mark nodded and added,

"Yeah, and it just wouldn't be much fun if you didn't..."

Vanessa rolled her eyes.

"Fine, whatever you say."

Mark clapped her on the back and said,

"Thanks, you da man... Girl."

Then he walked away and began to pace the room. He was wondering mainly about Kelsey. If he could just get in a moment alone with her, maybe he could win her. But how would he be able to sneak off with her without anybody noticing? Would she even want to cooperate?

Unfortunately for Mark, he'd have to wait until six o'clock for the REAL party to start. In the meantime, everyone was just wandering around wondering what the heck to do. The entire day moved sluggishly, and in what seemed like years it was still only a quarter past three. Most of the day, Mark just sat and dreamt of all the different ways they could have fun, but then all the different ways he could be refused by Kelsey. It was like "Bittersweet Symphony" by The Verve was constantly playing in his head.

And then it happened. It happened right on the dot at five o'clock. Mark had closed his eyes to try and get a dream about Kelsey, but instead what he got was another one of those black and white visions.

He saw himself sitting with Kelsey on a couch of wool. She was close to him, her arms around his torso. They were looking at a large screen, but they constantly were looking back at each other. It was clear that they cared squat about whatever they were watching. Their eyes met, and she smiled. Mark could feel her warmth so well. She was practically on fire...

But she was! She was glowing. Tongues of flame were covering every inch of her body. Kelsey screamed out in pain and fell off the couch into the sand, flailing her arms and legs to try and get the flames off. Mark watched in horror as her flesh burned up, covering her in black, and then she went still. Smoke was wafting up from her dead corpse, and Mark saw every detail. He looked to his side in slow-motion to see a huge fireball in the distance. He saw two figures by it, and then he heard laughter, creepy, metallic laughter that could only belong to the Glitch. Suddenly, a searing pain flew through the three-scratch scar on Mark's forehead and the vision faded.

Mark's eyes opened and he found himself panting and sweating profusely. Kelsey was standing over him looking concerned.

"Mark, you ok? You're, like, drenched in sweat. Did you have a dream?"

Mark was shivering when he sat up on his bed. Other people were starting to stare, so he had to get out of there. Mark didn't answer her; he just stood up and strode towards the door, shaking his head to free himself of that horrible feeling. Once outside he sat down in the grass, taking deep breaths. He had to stop this vision. They had never been wrong before, so how couldn't it be real now?

Mark sat outside in his own little world of misery for another forty minutes. Then Adrian came around the corner and he jumped a little. Adrian sat down next to him and said,

"You ok, partner?"

Mark shook his head. He could be honest with Adrian. Then he turned to face Adrian and told him the whole vision. He also talked about how he was afraid of what would happen between him and Kelsey. He talked about all the bad things that could happen. Finally, when he was finished ten minutes later, Adrian just grinned and said,

"Well, fer one thing, I think tha' yer visions er faulty. Also, Kelsey really seems ter like ya in the first place."

Mark felt a bit more confident after that and tried to put on a smile. Then Adrian stood up and said,

"C'mon, we're all going over ta the beach now. Ten more minutes 'til the partyin' starts."

He grabbed Mark's hand and pulled him to his feet. As they were walking back around to quick get everyone back inside, Mark felt a lot better than he had before. Even if the vision was real, he'd stop it, and for now he would put all those thoughts from his mind and focus on having as much fun as humanly possible.

They stepped through the rickety front door together and stopped in the middle of the room. Mark stood up on one of their chests and raised his hands to get everyone's attention. Once their eyes were on him he said,

"Who wants to partaaaaaayyyyyy?"

There were whoops and cheers all around. People slapped hands for another ten seconds before they finally were able to get out the door. They walked in a big group, chatting about the upcoming night. Even Felix, Mickey and the pig family followed them, letting out their own little animal noises as they went. Mark noticed that Gabe and Lucas were looking sour towards each other for some reason. He'd noticed it before, too. But he tried to ignore it and just keep walking. Then they stopped on the beach and waited for the party to start. Since the sun was setting, Rexum walked over and placed the Eyestone on the sand and created a HUGE golden force field stretching thirty blocks in every direction. Plenty of room...

Mark found Vanessa nearby, who was talking animatedly with Adrian.

"Ready?" he asked, grinning widely.

Vanessa smiled and nodded. She lifted Cantatis into the air and imagined a gigantic dance floor, a surround-sound system, and a DJ stand. Vanessa, despite all the distance she's come from being stiff to being a fun-loving gal, still hated dancing in front of others. So instead she walked up into the DJ stand and put on some Beats. Mark knew that all his friends—with the exception of Lucas—were from Earth, so he was confident they knew some of the more popular songs besides Minecraft parodies. So, he had Vanessa put on the first song that came to his mind: "Last Friday Night". **((By the way, all of the songs that come on are the ones that I am listening to on Pandora as I type.))**

Mark didn't knew dance moves, but he just felt like doing some free-style. He danced and laughed, and soon others were joining him. People were singing along, and a chorus of voices echoed through the air...

_"There's a stranger in my bed,_

_There's a pounding in my head_

_Glitter all over the room_

_Pink flamingos in the pool_

_I smell like a minibar_

_DJ's passed out in the yard_

_Barbie's on the barbeque_

_This a hickie or a bruise"_ they sang.

The next song to come on was "We Are Young". Mark tried to dance his way over to Kelsey, but there were so many people in the cluster it was hard to do that unnoticeably. So they continued to laugh and rock their bodies from side to side. Then after that song was done, Mark was glad to hear "Sexy And I Know It" come on. Long story short, Mark knew the greatest dance of them all: break dancing. Every time one of the more dubstep-sounding sequences came on Mark would bust a move. He did handstands, backflips, and so on. He really got his friends cheering when he flipped onto his head and spun in circles.

They danced for hours on end, and Mark could definitely agree that it was one of the most enjoyable parties he'd ever been to. Finally, after two whole hours Mark's favorite song came on. It was "Viva La Vida" by Coldplay. The music just flowed through him like streams of water, silky and smooth and flawless. There was no way he could dance properly... Without a partner, that is... Things just happened in a blur. Mark danced swiftly to Kelsey and grabbed her hand, taking her into a dance. But instead of struggling against him, Kelsey seemed to have been waiting for this moment.

Their moves matched each others as they danced through the raging seas of cellos and the dramatic rings of Jerusalem bells. Mark danced with her, their hands clasped together. It seemed as though she knew exactly where to move as Mark moved. The only thought inside Mark's head was a thought of pure joy. He was dancing with Kelsey to his favorite song, the most dramatic song in the world, and she liked it. She liked HIM.

_"I hear Jerusalem bells ringing,_

_Roman cavalry choirs are singing_

_Be my mirror my sword and shield_

_My missionaries in a foreign field_

_And for some reason I can't explain_

_I know Saint Peter will call my name_

_Never an honest word_

_That was when I ruled the world."_

And it ended. "Viva La Vida" ended after those last words, and the instruments came to a dull, signaling its true end.

Mark and Kelsey stared at each other, both of their hearts beating rapidly. Cheers were coming from their friends. The cheers lasted for another two minutes, and in that two minutes Mark felt like he was flying. Flying with Kelsey...

It was clear that after THAT amazingly dramatic display, nobody felt like dancing anymore—it's not like it could've gotten better than what they'd just experienced. So, as Mark and Kelsey let go of each other, both of them red in the face a considerable amount, Adrian declared that they would now be holding a porkchop-eating contest. He must've seen Mark's list beforehand.

As Adrian set down two wooden planks and laid out a pile of ten gigantic porkchops on each of them he stood up straight with a look of pride/determination.

"Alright, everybody! Ah'll have ya know tha' I've been the champion o' several food-eatin' contests back in Texas, and I'd also like to say tha' EVERYTHIN' in Texas is BIGGER! So, who 'ere wants ta challenge me?

Nobody raised their hand. It was obvious that Adrian wasn't lying, that was a given. But then, someone did lift their hand, and it was the person they least expected: Gabe. When Gabe lifted his hand into the air and said, "I'll take you on", everyone was stunned. Mark whirled around and watched as he walked towards one of the porkchop-buried tables.

"Gabe, I thought you were supposed to be a gentleman!" he blurted out.

He caught Gabe giving a small smile as he said,

"Well, I guess I can make an exception."

To himself Mark thought,

"I didn't Mr. Sparta here would budge, but maybe I'm wrong. Maybe everyone has some kind of fun side to them deep inside themselves, just like Vanessa had; only sometimes they're just buried and take a little time to bring back to life... I dunno, who gives a Twinkie about poetic stuff anyway, I certainly don't."

Adrian and Gabe approached their starting lines. Vanessa turned Cantatis into a small stopwatch and said,

"Aaaaaaand, on your mark, get set... GO!"

Both of them started shoveling porkchops into their mouths. Adrian had a big mouth and huge appetite, but both Gabe's mouth and appetite were bigger than his by a long shot. It was only ten seconds before Gabe just took the pile of porkchops and shoved the remaining seven down his throat at once. Everyone "oohed" as he chewed the wad of meat in his mouth. He was slowing down and Adrian was almost catching up. Then, Gabe miraculously took a huge swallow just as Adrian was biting into his last porkchop. Vanessa clicked her stopwatch and said,

"Twenty-two seconds! Nice!"

Then Adrian finished the next moment, and she clicked her stopwatch again and said,

"Twenty-five seconds! Gabe is the winner!"

At that moment Gabe turned to face everyone and let out a deafening belch that nearly knocked them over. It lasted for about ten seconds before stopping. He deeply inhaled and then blew the air out, wiping his sweaty forehead with his "THIS IS SPARTA" T-shirt. Everyone—with the exception of the sour-faced Lucas—rushed over to him and surrounded him with whoops and cheers of the most epic kind.

It was as though Gabe remembered something he wanted to do, because he shushed them all and continued to smile.

"Excuse me, but if you think that is impressive, I must show you something even greater than the scene you just witnessed."

Gabe parted through the group and stopped next to the glowing red DJ stand six blocks away. He looked back at them and said,

"Did I ever tell you what my last name was?" everyone shook their heads. "I was known as Gabe Maxwell during my time on Earth. But, do you know what my Minecraftian last name was, what Block power I received after my final exam during my time in school?" again they shook their heads.

Then Gabe looked down at the beach sand and thrust his empty hand. To everyone's surprise, a noteblock appeared. Mark clapped his hand over his mouth. Gabe, the toughest, beefiest, most gorilla-ish dude he'd ever met, had the Block power of NOTEBLOCK? Gabe placed a line of five noteblocks in front of him and stood behind the middle one. Then he grinned, glanced back up and said,

"Watch closely as Gabe Noteblock demonstrates the true soul of rhythm."

He hit a noteblock lightly. Then he hit another one slowly again, and hit some of the other ones in order, forming a calming tune that turned out to be Mary Had A Little Lamb. Then he paused after the last note, looked back up, and then back down at the noteblocks.

And then, WHAM! His fists flew across the line of noteblocks, turning the notes from light bell rings to the sounds of drums. His hands were blurs as they smashed the noteblocks in a rapid pattern, and immediately he was deep into an epic drum solo. Now everyone was either laughing or trying to contain it. Gabe was absolutely right; this was far more impressive than the whole porkchop deal. Thirty or so seconds of drumming later Gabe ended his solo and bowed for them all. They clapped and cheered.

Thankfully, the "wait-an-hour-after-eating-before-you-swim" policy didn't affect people in the world of Minecraft, so they dove into the water a few minutes later. As Mark was swimming with the rest of his friends, he felt something grab him from behind and whirled around to see Kelsey grinning playfully.

"This is for that time a few weeks ago when you cheated!"

Mark was wondering what the heck she was talking about, but it dawned on him as she tackled him through the water. She was referring to that time those few weeks ago when they were wrestling in the water and he cheated by tickling her. He was attempting to get out of her grasp, but the week must've made Kelsey stronger, because she maintained a tight grip as they tumbled through the water. Adrian eventually spared him from the embarassing moment by, well, just making it more embarassing. He approached them in the water and shouted,

"Ladies, ladies! Yer both pretty, so play nice!"

Adrian received a tag-team noogie from Mark and Kelsey, but in retaliation he splashed them both with a huge wave. In no time the three of them were in an all-out splash war. Vanessa just had to be a cheater herself and turn Cantatis into a gigantic red hand, which she used to create a successful tidal wave that nearly drowned them all. She just meant to hit the three of them, but she managed to catch both Gabe and Lucas as well.

After that, everyone was so tried that swimming seemed too hard, so that's when Mark decided that they'd put on the movie. He told Vanessa to go searching for the most popular movie on Earth at the moment, and to his surprise, she started looking extremely excited as the movie title came up. Mark walked over to her—Cantatis was now a glowing red laptop that she was using to search movies—to see what she was looking at. She practically jumped up and down with feverish excitement and squealed,

"Look! Look it's mom and dad as teenagers!"

Mark's jaw dropped to the ground when he saw the movie screen that she'd pulled up. On the cover it showed who he recognized to be his dad as a teenager and his mom too. His dad was standing looking grim, gripping hard onto a gleaming diamond shovel. His mom had her small hand on his shoulder and her other on her hip, and there was a gleaming diamond sickle hanging from around her arm. On either side of them were mostly teenagers with the exception of one adult.

And then he felt himself shiver when he looked above everyone's heads. Looming over them was the large plasma creature with the red slit-eyes that he saw when he first landed in Minecraft. It brought back cold thought, but he quickly pushed them back. The title hung directly below all of the characters' feet, and it read: "The Glitch".

Mark looked back up at Vanessa and said,

"They made a movie about their adventure?"

Vanessa grinned and nodded vigorously.

"Oh yeah!" she pointed to the computer screen and said, "It says here it was made in 2418, and that was roughly twenty years ago! It makes sense, doesn't it? 2415 must've been when this all happened, and it would've taken a while to create a production like that, especially with all the huge sets they probably needed."

Mark just grinned, and then he said,

"Oh man, I gotta tell everyone else! You summon some wool couches or something, not made of magic or magic-crafted though (that wouldn't be comfortable)."

So as Vanessa waved Cantatis to form to summon several wool couches up from the sand, Mark stepped out in front of everyone—they were all still soaking wet from the tidal wave that happened earlier. He got their attention and then explained all about the movie they'd be watching and about how it's basically all about his parents' adventures. Everybody seemed pretty interested, so they were in a hurry to get themselves seated. Mark almost forgot that he had to bring out his "secret weapon" to Kelsey. As she was sitting down he approached her and held out his hand.

"Kelsey, you gotta come with me."

Lucas stood up and crouched behind the couch.

"Alone, Lucas."

Knowing it was obvious he could be seen, Lucas sulked disappointingly back to his seat next to Adrian. Mark was so relieved when Kelsey took his hand and stood up. With his stomach churning with anticipation, Mark led Kelsey away from the beach as quietly as possible. Everyone was busy watching the movie previews to notice them sneaking away, so the coast was clear.

Mark led her by the hand into the forest, and knowing that the mutated mobs would soon be upon them he made it quick.

"Kelsey," he said nervously as a smile creeped across his mouth. "Oh, wait, I just gotta say, this'll be breaking the fourth wall so hard, but... Er, you already know that we're just inside a book. We're main characters in a book; you've grasped that, right?"

Kelsey nodded and said,

"I still is kinda confusing, but yeah, I knew that. I mean, we do get transported into the Author's mind whenever we're not getting scene-time. Plus, people reading our, um, story are asking us questions and stuff, like that one jerky guy named **Jhon **who told me that you... Never mind." her face was reddening with either anger or embarrassment; Mark wasn't sure what this **Jhon **guy asked her, but he didn't want to push her any farther. She looked back at him and said,

"Anyway, just tell me what you want to tell me."

Mark was now bouncing restlessly on the balls of his feet.

"Well, you see, in one of my Character Questions I got from an audience member they gave me a gleaming white stallion that I named Elmer, and they said I should give it to you... So, I, er, will."

Mark walked about twenty blocks into the trees and found the gleaming white horse with large blue eyes named, who was Elmer tethered to the same place Mark had been keeping him. He couldn't remember the exact name of which fan had given it to him, but whoever it was he thanked from the bottom of his heart. He brought Elmer back through the trees, and Mark saw Kelsey's eyes light up with joy when she first saw her new horse. She ran to Elmer and pet his muzzle, and he snorted affectionately towards her. She looked back at Mark with a flushed but joyous face.

"Thank you so much! I love him!"

Mark patted Elmer's saddle and said,

"Well, why don't we ride Elmer here back to the beach?"

Kelsey nodded excitedly and jumped up onto the front. Mark jumped on the back, right behind her, and closed his arms around her waist. As they zoomed gracefully out of the forest and across the small stretch of plains Mark could feel the happiness just bursting from Kelsey, who was laughing and screaming with delight. In no time they came to a halt next to the DJ stand, where Vanessa yelped at the sudden approach the huge horse.

Mark and Kelsey got down off the saddle, and at that time everyone else had turned around to see Elmer. Gabe immediately stood up and rushed over to the horse.

"Where did you find such a large horse? And this mane, it's beautiful!" he looked at Mark's expression and said,

"Wait, did you... Get it from... One of the fans reading this story that we're in? Wow, our story must be quite popular, quite popular indeed, to attract such a massive quantity of fans. I guess I never really grasped the aspect of how many eyes could be watching our life's story at this very moment, it's almost as though—"

"ALRIGHT, STOP! JUST STOP THERE!"

It was the fourth wall repairman. There was a sharp fragment of the fourth wall stuck in his arm, and he looked ready to blow.

"Listen, I don't care if I'm intruding on an important part of this stupid book, I'm just coming to demand that you STOP BREAKING THE FOURTH WALL SO MUCH!"

Everyone was quiet. This was probably the last thing they expected to happen. The fourth wall repairman was never supposed to come into the story itself...

And then Lucas had the most brilliant idea to calm him down.

"Why don't you stay here for a bit? You know, just relax and stuff. We're about to watch "The Glitch"."

To their surprise, the fourth wall repairman sighed with relief and said,

"Alright! My kids love that movie, and so do I. I recommend you buy it, it's one of the best Minecraft movies I've ever seen."

After THAT unexpected turn of events, now the fourth wall repairman was sitting with his work boots kicked off on the wool couch, munching on some peanuts he got from who-knows-where.

Once everyone was seated, Vanessa started the movie. Mark couldn't stop smiling; he was watching his dad go through life. In the very beginning when his dad's mom and dad made an appearance he pointed and said,

"Hey, there's my grandparents!"

The best part of watching the movie wasn't actually watching the thing itself, but the fact that Kelsey was sitting right next to him. He and Kelsey laughed for a good minute when they got to the part near the beginning where his dad was being intimidated by Danny and he poked him in both eyes. They continued to laugh together at all the jokes for a while.

But then things got even better when Mark noticed that Kelsey was slowly scotching closer to him. Mark gave a concealed grin and decided to pull Kelsey to him instead. He did the yawn trick and stretched out his arms during a fake yawn, and then rested his arm around her shoulder when he brought it back down. She looked up at him and grinned, one eyebrow raised.

"Really?"

Mark's cheeks burned and he just stared away to the screen.

"Yep." he muttered.

But instead of pushing his arm off, Kelsey swung her smooth, tan legs over his lap, and curled her arms around him so that they were close together. His heartbeat could be heard echoing rapidly. Mark couldn't feel any breath coming into his lungs and his palms were getting sweaty. He knew that this was the moment he'd been waiting for, and finally, oh finally, it was here. Mark grinned at the moment and decided to flirt with her a little, just to keep things in the right mood.

He caressed her bare legs softly, and he could feel her shivering with pleasure. He caught her smiling. Then he traced his fingers down her leg, drawing a long heart that only he could see. She twitched a little, the smile still creeping across her pale lips. Next, he turned his index finger and middle finger into something like legs, and walked them across her skin, making them dance. And that's when she reached over and took his hand in hers. She brought it to her stomach and put it there.

Mark knew what she wanted, and slid his hand beneath her tank top, rubbing her bare stomach slowly. She just sighed with pleasure, the relaxed smile across her face, her eyes closed as though she was experiencing a pleasant dream. He continued onto scratching her tummy lightly, and through a closed mouth she let out quiet, airy giggles. So they sat there, close together, sharing their heat, the movie completely forgotten. Somewhere in there as they fell asleep hugged together, Mark heard her whisper this: "Mark... I love you...". He might have replied with, "I love you too.", but he wasn't sure, it was all just so blurry in his emotion.

It was Vanessa who woke them up when the movie was over. When Mark opened his eyes he saw that his hand was still on Kelsey's stomach, and that she was fast asleep. Vanessa was grinning mischievously in front of them, her teeth gleaming and her arms crossed. Mark, making sure to keep from waking her up, said,

"Vanessa, she's asleep, give me break..." he whispered.

Vanessa rolled her eyes and muttered,

"Adrian, Gabe and Lucas are starting on a huge sandcastle, so you can join when you two are ready."

And then she walked away, leaving Mark alone with Kelsey. She woke up a few minutes later. She looked up at Mark and clung to him tight.

"Is it still nighttime? Is the party still on?"

Mark smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, it's probably only a bit past eleven o'clock. C'mon, the other guys are building a huge sandcastle."

Kelsey clung tighter to him and pleaded,

"Massage my tummy again, please. I like it a lot."

So she and Mark sat there for another ten minutes, his hand rubbing and scratching her flat stomach. But then he said that they'd miss the sandcastle if they didn't hurry, so she agreed to get up again. As they walked back towards the water where the huge in-progress sand castle was being built, their hands were still clasped together.

And then Kelsey let go, looked away and said,

"Oh wait! I just remembered that I wanted to stop at the house for something."

Mark suddenly remembered the vision he had of her being set on fire, and he wasn't sure what would happen if she walked away, so he stopped her from going and said,

"That's ok, you can get it after the party, I'm sure. C'mon, let's check out the sandcastle."

Mark started walking on his own around and took in every bit of the sandcastle. There was a ladder leading up to where they were building a sandstone roof. Adrian was there, filling in the empty space with fresh sandstone. He looked up at Mark with a grin and stopped what he was doing.

"Hey, Mark! During the movie I couldn't help notice tha' you an' Kelsey were snuggling! You two look reeeeeeaaaaaal cute together." he said, tipping his hat in that one little motion.

Mark smiled and shook his head.

"Dude, you have NO idea! I found out that she loves having her stomach rubbed and scratched, and after I was part of that action she was curling up to me like a puppy! She's just so cute, it's absolutely adorable! I love her so much!"

Adrian looked down the edge of the sand castle at someone and added,

"Hey, by the way, ya know tha' fourth wall repairman? Tha' guy's still here. He offered ta help us build the sandcastle. I said we didn't need any help, but boy, was I wrong. He is, like, super fast at building with that hammer of his. I think it's called a Wall Hammer or something, that thing he uses to repair the fourth wall all the time."

Mark looked down at the ceiling that Adrian was building and then up into the sky past the golden force field.

"Hey, why don't you leave the ceiling out? Then there'll be more light coming in." he suggested.

Adrian looked down at the ceiling he stood on and said,

"Good idea."

As he was removing the half-finished ceiling, Mark climbed back down the ladder to the sand of the beach. He walked around the side to the wide doorway in front and entered. It was kind of like Patrick Star's house. There were sand couches lined along the walls with several small sand tables. Mark sat down on the couch and looked above him. The ceiling had already been removed and about twelve seconds later Adrian came inside. He sat down next to Mark on the couch and took out two buckets of milk. He took one in hand and gave the other to Mark. He raised his and said,

"To Mark: the greatest party-planner in the world!"

They bonked milk buckets with a little clink sound and Mark took a deep gulp of the sweet, creamy milk. Suddenly, Adrian burst out in song for no apparent reason.

_"OOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHH..._

_99 buckets of milk on the wall,_

_99 buckets of milk!_

_Take one down and pass it around_

_98 buckets of milk on the wall!"_ he sang.

Mark joined him in singing his chant, and for every bucket of milk they sang of they'd each chug another bucket the Adrian always seemed to have. Kelsey walked in on them about ten minutes later, and both of them were swaying back and forth, milk sloshing around as they rowdily sang,

_"68 _*hic!*_ buckets of milk on the wall,_

_68 buckets of milk! _*hic!*

_Take one down _*hic!*_ and pass it around_

_67 buckets of milk on the wall! ... _*HIC!*_"_

By that time they were left singing to a slow funeral march. Kelsey quickly confiscated all their milk to keep them from getting possibly dangerous. Everyone else trickled inside their sandcastle/house in the following minutes that came.

All of them sat in a circle, and Mark knew that it was the opportune time to rant on about all the stupid things in life. He started off with the perfect conversation-starter...

"What do you guys think of kid shows they have these days?"

That definitely got the discussion started. Adrian immediately went off with,

"Oh, man! I remember when kid shows used ter be the classics with lots of dropping anvils an' ducks who had speech impediments!"

Everyone nodded in agreement. Then Kelsey spoke to Mark's right.

"I remember those years when I had to deal with my little brother watching Super Why ever day. I recall one time—actually several, but this one stood out—where that Super Why kid was trying to teach his baby brother how to read and he couldn't figure out how to do it. So, he's all like, "I know! I have to look in a book!". What kind of crap is that?! His "superpower" is the power to read! Just let that marinate for a second..."

Everyone laughed, and then it was Gabe piped in.

"Yes, I admit that I have also been annoyed by bothersome shows for children. I can remember one time when my younger sister was watching Dora The Explorer, and Dora was trying to find a special kind of tree in a stretch of valley. There was one tree, the one tree that she was searching for, and it was directly behind her. Over and over she would ask where the tree was, and every time she either looked left, right, over at the floor—if that makes any sense at all. I think to myself, What on Earth is she getting at? She's bilingual, brave and strong enough to walk through forests, mountains, canyons and swamps for hours upon hours of screen time, but she can't manage to ever turn 180 degrees to see what she's looking for!"

They continued to laugh a ton; Adrian actually slapped his knee. Then, once again to their surprise, the fourth wall repairman spoke from the other end of the room—nobody noticed that he'd been standing there the whole time, just tossing his Wall Hammer into the air and catching it in a slow rhythm.

"Oh yeah? Want to hear something worse?" everyone was now watching him as he tossed the magic hammer.

"I had to watch a show called Bananas In Pajamas. It was about the magical adventures of these bananas that were constantly hugging living teddy bears while never wearing anything else but pajamas..."

Everybody went quiet. It was Vanessa who cracked first, and she let out a laugh that worked like the Domino Effect, because everybody cracked up after that. Mark was pleased to see Vanessa constantly giggling, her glass slightly askew.

They joked and talked for a long time, and soon it was already fifteen minutes to midnight. Rexum had mentioned briefly that they would have to be done at midnight; otherwise they'd never get enough sleep. For the last fifteen minutes of their time they set up a campfire in the middle of the sand. Vanessa had already taken down all her magic-crafted sets and screens and the whole DJ stand/surround sound system. They roasted cocoa pods over the fire, and to Mark's delight they actually turned out pretty darn good.

Surprisingly, Adrian had a banjo with him the whole time and nobody knew it, because he took one out of his hotbar as the fire was being lit so they could sing campfire songs. Fifteen minutes of laughter, singing, banjo-plucking, and chocolate-roasting later, it was midnight, so they had to all head back to the cabin.

But of course, with every good thing, there is always something bad lurking around the corner, because just as they were leaving, Rexum was taking a headcount and noticed that one was missing. Lucas! Then there was a scream coming from the distance, which definitely belonged to him. Mark peered closely through the dark and his stomach twisted when he saw something glowing fiercely in the distance.

Mark couldn't stop himself from running towards the glowing ball, and Rexum tried to grab him, but missed narrowly. As Mark ran closer, he felt himself become sick to the point where he had to stop, his breathing becoming shallow. Their entire cabin, which once sat peacefully on the stretch of plains, had erupted in a ball of flame, every block of wood burning before him. And that scream... Lucas must be inside the building!

Mark ran as fast as he could to rescue his friend. As the flames got closer he saw Bonbon lying either dead or unconscious on the ground next to their burning home. She looked severely burned, her normally green skin charred black and smoldering. Mark punched the flames, expecting them to go out on contact like they usually did in Minecraft, but all it did was spread onto his hand, burning him. Mark scream and shook his fist to put it out. Then he looked back at the burning door and just kicked it open, sending it falling open from its melting hinges. Mark ran through the flames, coughing in the smoke, searching blindly for Lucas.

And then he felt his hand close around what felt like an arm. He grasped whatever it was and tugged, and he dragged that something all the way out the door, dodging the flames as best he could.

They burst through the door outside, and Mark landed in the grass next to the charcoal-black form of Lucas, who had his eyes shut with soot covering his face, clogged in his nostrils. In his fogged mind he pondered angrily about why he was so damaged in there when in the real game of Minecraft nothing like that would've happened.

For a moment, while he was on the ground he thought he saw a shadow come over him, but in the haziness coming from his lack of air, Mark couldn't tell. Then there was a metallic scream, and he heard an unearthly voice echo through the air.

_"YOU'LL ALL DIE!"_

He didn't even have enough strength to stay awake, because the next instant he found himself blacking out, his vision darkening... Darker... D...A...R...K...

* * *

***sniffle* *sniffle* I'm sorry, but I can't help it. It was perfect, and then... Then it was all for nothing...**

**But, putting those thoughts from our minds... *sniffle* Let's get on with some QAA...**

**To the Glitch: I before E, except after C, and when rhyming with A as in 'neighbor' or 'way'.**

The Glitch: What does THAT have to do with anything?! Is that the lowest thing you can think of to say to me?! Is it! Of course, because the Glitch knows ALLLLL! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

**To the Glitch: I will kill you. Your black plasma is gonna go down my toilet.**

The Glitch: So, you use a toilet to flush evil beings down? Please, tell me how that would compare to the black hole that it MY MOUTH! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

**To Danny: You suck, don't try to be as cool as Norman, but here's something that'll help you be a little "cooler". *gives him a gift that will blow a magical snow storm towards him and will freeze him when he opens it* I did say "cooler".**

Danny: *opens box before you finish talking, expecting a nice big cake or something, and instead becomes frozen in a block of ice*

**To the fourth wall repairman (real name Phil Drake): What is happening to the fourth wall this time? ;3**

Phil: Well, considering I was just staying with the characters just now, I'd say it's probably exploding in billions of pieces even AFTER it breaks. I don't care anymore, I know that this Author loves to break the fourth wall, so why complain about fixing it? *goes off to fix the fourth wall for the millionth time with his Wall Hammer*

**To Bonbon:Agent C4: Your mission should you choose to accept it, is to gather as much Intel as possible on Lucas and steal a piece of Vanessa's book and then give Void (the enderwolf) the info. If successful you will be rewarded with a bucket of gunpowder milk and 3 cookies. -This message will not self-destruct so just get rid of it.**

Bonbon: *is still charred and smoldering from the house-fire* I... *COUGH!* I can't... I can't... Do that much... I *HACCKCCCCGGGGK!* don't... Want to... It hurts too much...

**To Mark: Here is a bedrock sword.**

Mark: I can't accept it, I... I couldn't leave my diamond sword, I've kinda grown attached to it, y'know?

**Oh man, what a bittersweet chapter! First there was the epic party when Mark got to snuggle with Kelsey! The love triangle between Kelsey, Mark and Gabe has FINALLY been shattered! As a bonus, the fourth wall repairman (A.K.A. Phil Drake) got some well-deserved screen time. But then again, after a great party like that, nobody had expected to come home to find their house burning in a great ball of fire. Lucas and Bonbon could easily be dead, and for all Mark could tell, HE was going to die. How will the following morning play out? Will ANYONE be able to shake the burning image of their home? But for now, this is Pastrinator64, and I'll see you later with chapter numbah fifteen!**

***throws sugar bomb, disappears in a cloud of fine white sugar***

**Byyyyyeeeeee...**

**~Pastrinator64 [~]**


	15. Chapter 15: Two Broken Birds

**Hello, this is Pastrinator64 with another chapter from VOiD. I would just like to make an announcement to one of our viewers by the name of Jhon. Jhon, if you are reading this, I would just like to say that if you can't keep your reviews from becoming rated M—which this story is not—then I will have to ignore and/or delete your reviews entirely. I have already blocked you by your account, so please, if you wish to enjoy the story, keep you dirty thoughts to yourself, because I'm sure nobody wants to hear it! -_- Anyway, if there are no more interruptions, I'm sure we would all like to get on with some replies to reviews!**

Replies To Reviews...

**Somebody10101: **I will agree, it was a very full chapter.

**Enderdude: **The OC is coming up soon, but not quite yet, just hold your enderhorses. ;D

**CSICreeper: **I have the Triforce of Sugariness. :D POPTARTS UNITE!

**Nwinds: **You want to send a cotton-candy-armored dwarf to kill me? You sure about that? That would be your ideal choice? And also, who's Urist?

**Enderwolf: **I know, I know, I had to many ideas going around in my head at once. But this next chapter isn't nearly as confusing or full to bursting. Besides, the fourth wall repairman Phil is gone now.

**Kyle McShade: **What did you think of the scene with Mark and Kelsey when they were watching the movie? (By the way, if you were confused about the movie thing, it's something that only fans who have read The Glitch would understand.)

**Well, now that that's all done, how about we get on with the story?**

**Hello, this is Pastrinator64 with another chapter from VOiD. Last time on VOiD we watched as Mark and company went throughout a several-hour-long party lasting into the night. After hours of dancing and porkchop eating, they watched a movie, and Mark finally gained Kelsey's trust and love. (It was probably giving her the white horse named Elmer, in my opinion.) Then they built a massive sandcastle with the help of the fourth wall repairman Phil Drake, told jokes for a while inside, and then came out to roast cocoa pods for the rest of the night, getting to sit around a campfire and listen to Adrian play his banjo. But, Mark knew that it was all too good to be true, because as they walked home, they found their once peaceful abode to be up in flames. Mark heroically got Lucas out of the burning building, but it was unclear whether either him or Lucas would make a full recovery. Now we come back to Norman and Liz as they finally reach Professor Explotar, as Mark wakes up to find a new face in the group, and as Mark has a strange dream, revealing several things about his past that he never realized.**

**Now, let the story commence!**

* * *

_Chapter 15: Two Broken Birds_

Norman and Lizzy ran quickly from out of the main doors of the airport in Berlin. The limo that was going to pick them up and bring them to Professor Explotar's headquarters was waiting right there for them. They flew into the long leather seats in the back and shut the door. Ted, the driver, leaned back to look at them and spoke in German (those years of bilingual classes really paid off).

"Ihr seid Freunde von Jack, nicht wahr?"

Norman nodded and replied breathlessly, also in German,

"Ja, wir brauchen, um zum Berlin Institute of Scientific Examination westlich von der Hauptstadt zu bekommen."

The limo took off onto the road. They drove for about twenty minutes before they reached the Berlin Institute of Scientific Examination, which was a large white building with lines of windows running up and down the concrete walls. Once the limo was parked, Norman opened the door and let himself and Liz out. They walked together towards and then up the long marble staircase leading to the doors.

Inside the gigantic lobby they walked up to the desk and Norman leaned on the table, saying quickly,

"We have an appointment with Jackson Explotar."

The German clerk spoke in a very heavy accent, muttering,

"Ah yes, the Americans..." he pressed a button on his earpiece and said, "Professor Explotar, your American friends are 'ere."

The clerk stepped out from behind the desk and started walking down the middle of the lobby. They followed him down a few hallways and into a fancy, gleaming elevator with at least a hundred buttons. The clerk pushed one of the buttons with a gloved finger and they began to ascend. They rode up for about a minute, and then the elevator doors opened, and Norman and Liz exited in a hurry. The clerk lead them down another hallway, and at the end of it was a large steel door with a sign that read, "Professor Explotar".

The clerk swiped a card key in a slot on the side and clicks could be heard echoing from inside the door. He pushed it open for Norman and Liz to enter. Inside was a very large laboratory full of people in lab coats bustling about, carrying test tubes and beakers and flasks and whatnot. A lady wearing a lab coat and safety goggles approached them. She had short brown hair, a pair of milky chocolate-colored eyes and a noticeably gigantic nose. She smiled at them both and said,

"Well, hello Norman and Lizzy."

Norman smiled and gave her a tight hug.

"It's good to see you too, Narcissa." he looked around the lab and said, "I see becoming a chemist has been treating you well. Hey, have you still got the duo bottle from Minecraft? You know, Swig & Splash?"

Narcissa nodded and said,

"Yes, I still have it at home. I live in this world now, living the dream life with the dream job. Chemistry was the only scientific field I was ever good in."

Norman looked around the lab and said,

"Where's Professor Explotar?"

She turned and pointed towards a corner of the lab.

"He's testing that portal that connects Minecraft to this world. You know, that portal that those Army men found twenty years ago that teleported them into the world of Minecraft. We've gotten it to work again, and we're sending people through to see how it works."

They could see a familiar purple glow coming from where they were pointing, so they walked towards it. At the age of ninety-nine, Professor Explotar sat crippled in a wheelchair with the large rectangular portal in front of him. He came to the lab every morning and went home every night as normal, even in his condition. There was a man who was walking into the swirling purple liquid held inside the frame as Norman and Liz approached. Professor Explotar wheeled around in his wheelchair and smiled a nearly toothless grin when he saw them.

"Hello, Norman and Liz! I can see that you look lively today, and quite healthy, I might add!" he gestured around him at all his many scientists in lab coats. "All these people, all of them working for me! They all know about the connection from us to the world of Minecraft, which is mighty interesting considering they are all as cool as cucumbers 'bout it."

Norman wished he had time to chat with the old professor, but he didn't; for all he knew, Mark and Vanessa were in grave danger because of the Glitch.

"Jack, this is extremely urgent." he murmured quietly.

The professor looked at him with a suddenly serious expression.

"We need to get through into Minecraft and find our kids."

Professor Explotar's wrinkles vanished as his eyes grew to amazing size.

"Your kids are inside Minecraft, you say?" he pounded his fist on the arm of his wheelchair. "Blast it! That Glitch must have meditated to regain its power much quick than before. It must be back again and ready for revenge!" he turned back to the portal and said, "I see the amount of importance, and I will have you going through as soon as possible."

He wheeled back around and said,

"It's dangerous to go alone, take these."

He reached forward into the basket on his wheelchair and pulled out something long and gleaming with blue. It was a diamond shovel, which was shining with a brilliant light. It was the weapon that Norman had used when he was back in Minecraft: Shatter. He gave Shatter up to Norman and then took out a gleaming diamond sickle (Shine), which he handed to Liz.

"You will need your weapons back. I've been saving them with me ever since you left the Minecraft Dimension. Also, you can take these..."

He pulled out the two Blockpacks that used to be Norman and Lizzy's. They still fit perfectly, which was nice. Then Professor Explotar turned towards the bubbling beneath the frame of the portal and said,

"As soon as Frank March comes back through you may go through into the Minecraft Dimension."

Thankfully, it only took another minute for the man in the lab coat to come back out. Norman and Liz faced the swirling purple liquid inside the frame and then nodded at each other. The next moment, after receiving "farewell" and "good luck" from Professor Explotar, they stepped forward through the frame...

* * *

During his unconscious state, everything was hazy in Mark's mind. He knew he was in some sort of blurry dream, and all he could see was the blurred outline of the charred and smoldering Lucas. Occasionally it would switch back to their home, and he always saw it as it was still erupting in flames.

And then something cool swept over him, and he felt himself gain feeling in his arms and legs. His breathing was still too slow to satisfy, but he was still breathing, and that's what comforted him. He felt something wet touch his forehead a few seconds later, which made him open his eyes. His vision was darkened around the edges, but he could make out Rexum, who was dabbing a wet block of wool on his forehead. He could lift an arm or leg, but whenever he tried it would just hurt him, so he stayed still.

Mark eventually heard people talking. He could make out Kelsey's voice, and Adrian's responses, but he couldn't string the words together. Then he watched as Rexum stood up and held out what looked like the golden oak staff. The knotted wood tip was tapped on his forehead, and almost immediately, Mark felt relief spreading through his searing, stiff body. It made him strong enough to slowly prop himself up on his elbows, which he did to try and look around.

He swallowed hard when he saw Lucas. Lucas looked in a much worse shape. Every inch of skin on his body was charred black and chunks of skin had burned away from his face. His eyes were closed, and from where Mark was it didn't look like he was breathing anymore. Rexum walked away and towards Lucas, waving his staff above the boy's head. He was muttering some kind of incantation, and to Mark's utter relief, he saw that Lucas's chest began to rise and fall slowly, though the rest of the body remained stiff and unmoving.

Seeing that he was awake and aware of his surroundings, Kelsey walked to Mark and grasped his hand tightly, like she was afraid he'd collapse at any moment.

"Mark, thank God you're alive!"

She caught him in a hug that made him feel like he was about to REALLY collapse, so he muttered,

"Hurting Mark..."

Kelsey let go immediately and said,

"Oh, sorry! I'm sorry, I just... Ohh, I thought you were gone!"

And then Mark's stomach knotted with the worst sickening feeling he'd ever experienced. He had left his Blockpack in the house last night, which meant that the Balance Core was in there. For all he knew, it was burned up and lost forever. Mark looked down at his left hand. To his great relief, the one of the two Gloves of Gloom and Glad—the white one, supposedly the Glove of Glad—was still on his hand. He never noticed he was wearing it, it was like he couldn't ever feel it, but it never got lost.

"What about the Balance Core?!" Mark muttered anxiously, looking around to see if he could find it rolled off somewhere in the grass.

Kelsey paused for a moment, but then walked up to Rexum, spoke to him for ten seconds, and then came back with a bottle. It was the Balance Core, still safely inside its bottle. Mark took the bottle and remembered that it was invincible except to the Hammer Notch, and he took a deep breath. He still had the Glove of Glad and the Balance Core together, so the quest wasn't ruined yet.

Kelsey jabbed her finger to Mark's left and said,

"Hey, this is really strange, but we found someone else lying unconscious next to the house while it was burning. She hasn't woken up yet, but Rexum said she'll be up in about a half hour."

Mark looked to his left and saw another figure lying eagle-spread on the ground. It was a girl, probably fifteen years old like Adrian. It was clear that she was extremely gothic. She wore a dark hoodie, had draping pitch-black hair with blue highlights, and her lips were painted black. Her skin was terrifyingly pale, and there were deep purple shadows under her closed eyes. In the means of size, she was rather average-height and kind of skinny for her age.

Mark didn't want to stay on the ground any longer, and even though his skin was burned and boiling welts covered his aching limbs, he stood up and walked around aimlessly, glancing from Lucas to the other girl, wondering what either of them was doing there the previous night.

To his relief, it was no longer nighttime, it was now the following morning of the house-fire disaster. He realized something and walked towards Adrian, who looked solemn.

"Did... Did anything survive the fire?" he asked weakly.

Adrian looked up with his eyes full of grief.

"No, nothin' survived. Somehow, even the crafting tables burned up, an' those aren't even flammable! Thankfully, ma iron frying pan survived since it's COMPLETELY immune ter fire no matter what."

He lifted the iron frying pan that was his weapon.

"But all of ar Blockpacks were burned up, an' everything in the chests. All ar food, supplies, tools, ores and everything, it's all gone. All we have left is the stuff we kept in the hotbars on our arms, so I expect everyone probably had their weapons on them outa habit, so that's a bit better... Still, I jus' can' believe what I saw. When I got there with everyone else, the whole house was up in flames an' hotter than a lizard in the desert sun. You were face-down on the ground smolderin' and stuff. Lucas and that Creeper Bonbon were like that too. And then as Rexum was walking around the house shootin' some of his magic spells ter put out the fire he came back with that gothic chick... It's all so crazy, partner, I just can't get my head around it."

Then Adrian pointed over to the Goth girl lying in the grass nearby.

"When Rexum brought her back around she 'ad a flint an' steel in her hand! She must be a griefer! Rexum does think so, but if she ain't the one who set the house on fire ah'll eat ma hat." he muttered.

To their surprise, the girl started muttering the unmistakable words "shut up, redneck" from her almost-still lips. Adrian was outraged that he'd been called a redneck, but Mark quickly turned and called for Rexum, who was dabbing Lucas's forehead with another wet wool block.

"Rexum! The other girl is talking under her breath! She must be awake!"

Rexum quickly rushed over with his green silk robes fluttering behind him. He went in a businesslike way to the gothic girl, who was attempting to move her arms and push herself up. Rexum held her arm gently, saying,

"Do not strain."

She sleepily tried shaking his hand off, but was unsuccessful.

"Stop... Get off me... I don't... Want... Any help..."

Rexum eased her back onto the grass and said,

"Don't move, you'll only tire yourself."

She immediately lost any leftover energy and fell asleep on the spot. Rexum magicked her into the air on a golden stretcher. Then he did the same with Lucas and Bonbon.

"C'mon, everyone, we're going to walk until we find natural shelter."

People started protesting and complaining on the spot.

"But we've got nothing left!"

"Last night no one even got sleep!"

"How could we walk when we know that someone'll die soon?!"

Rexum snapped his head back and said,

"Stop that this instant! No one is going to die; I'll see to it that the worst thing that happens here is a temporary coma."

Mark sure wished that Rexum had magicked him onto a stretcher, but he was well enough to walk, so Rexum must've figured he didn't need it. He didn't care, he wanted to get out of there as quick as possible.

So they did as Rexum decided and walked on, three occupied stretchers floating behind them. As they were walking, Mark had been looking around, and he noticed a few minutes in that the fourth wall repairman (A.K.A. Phil Drake) had already left. Pretty much everyone looked either bored or glum. Even the two horses (Elmer and Felix) were looking solemn.

They walked for another two hours without rest, and to their great relief, they eventually found a small cave built into a nearby mountain from an upcoming mountain biome. Thankfully, Gabe had a full stack of torches with him, so they lit the entire cave up. Vanessa had some pieces of wood, so she placed them in a clever checker-board formation that covered the entrance, which would both keep monsters out and allow them to see what was going on outside.

"Everyone," said Rexum from the center of the room where he was setting down the stretchers. "We will rest here until the girl, Lucas and his pet revive. Until then, only I will be going out to get supplies. After these few recent events I can't trust that you will all be safe, and the only way to ensure your safety is to keep you INSIDE at all times."

Everyone groaned angrily, and they were about to start protesting when Rexum walked towards the checkered barrier that Vanessa built and walked through it to the outside world. As soon as his footsteps were gone they all started yelling again.

"I can't believe this!" shouted Kelsey, banging her fist up against the wall. "It's just not fair! Who knows how long it'll take all three of them to wake up!"

"Yeah, can't Rexum jus' use his magic ter revive them?!" Adrian declared angrily, shaking his head.

"If only that stupid gothic girl hadn't burned up the house!" said Vanessa.

The girl on the stretcher next to them suddenly responded again, muttering so very quietly,

"Shut up, voices... I didn't do it."

Suddenly, Mark had an idea and whispered,

"Guys, this girl keeps responding to negative comments! Maybe we can speed things up if we talk about her!"

Everybody—except Gabe and Vanessa, who both thought it to be an illogical solution—agreed to start blurting random insults. Mark was the first one to start off.

"Man, look at that black lipstick! It makes her looks like she spilled an ink sank on her face!"

The girl in the stretcher behind them was now rolling over and muttering negative responses to nobody.

"That hair, too! Did she dip her head in a fryer, or is her hair naturally that greased-looking?" said Kelsey in a loud and declaring voice.

The responses from Goth girl were getting louder and clearer by the second, and she kept growing more restless. Then Adrian spoke...

"Dang, look at her butt! I think someone must'a stuffed a bike pump in there; it's inflated like a goldang hot air balloon!"

That did the trick, because they all watched as her eyes opened—revealing a pair of dull periwinkle irises—and her mouth turned to a grimace.

"Where's the redneck?!" she demanded, her voice still a little sluggish.

Her eyes immediately landed on Adrian. It must've been the whole checkered blue shirt, cowboy boots and cowboy hat that gave her the idea, because her eyes filled with anger as soon as she laid eyes on him.

"You!" all grogginess was gone, and she stood up, pulling her black hoodie farther down. "You are so—"

But Kelsey immediately stepped in to stop her from going anywhere.

"Hold it, we were just trying to wake you up! It was the only thing that would work, ok?"

So the girl just turned on her instead of Adrian—Adrian gave a look of deep relief once her pale eyes had been lifted from him.

"Shut up and stop telling me what to do!"

"No, you don't get it! We just saved your life after you tried burning up our house!" shouted Kelsey.

"What the heck are you talking about?!" shouted the girl, pale flames of anger burning in her eyes.

"You had a flint and steel in your hand when we found you! You're a griefer, aren't you?" declared Kelsey in a matter-of-factly tone.

The girl's lips curled into a sneer as she muttered,

"Uh, no." then, quite suddenly she raised her usually bored-sounding voice. "I came up to the house and saw some kid inside trashing the place inside, and he was looking for something, it looked like! I thought he was a griefer, so I peeked inside to get a closer look in case I needed to go in a get rid of him! I didn't know who lived there, but I was just about to loot it myself, and I was super pissed when I saw him already in there! But before I could get in quietly, the kid just looked behind him and saw me through the window! And... And..." she suddenly sat back down on the stretcher and clutched her head. Then, to their surprise, she started crying.

"I don't remember what happened after that!" she shouted, holding her face in her hands.

Mark went over to comfort her, but Kelsey stopped him, obviously not wanting him to get friendly with this girl. She obviously didn't like her for some reason. So Gabe went over to her instead and took her hands away from her face.

"What's your name?" he asked quietly.

She didn't answer at first; all she did was shake his hand away, turning in the other direction. He just stood there waiting for an answer, and that did the trick, because she whispered this very quietly the next moment,

"Raven Clawfall..."

Mark thought she resembled a raven. All the black and everything, her solemn tone when she spoke. It did seem to suit the name well. Everybody just stood—or sat, in Raven's case—there for a while, the only sound being Raven's slight sniffling. And then, finally she looked up with red eyes and said,

"Just tell me where I am."

So Mark decided to explain everything to her. He talked about their quest, what their objectives were, and where they were going. Raven just seemed like a normal Minecraftian to him. She was probably just spooked from the mutating landscape that attacked every night. When he was finished, she just stared at him.

"You're kidding, right?"

"Nope." he stated simply.

She looked away and said,

"Well, wherever this is, I want to get the heck out."

"Er, but Rexum told us not to go back outside." said Kelsey.

Raven stood up and started walking towards the checkered barrier covering the mouth of the cave.

"I don't care. I'm not staying with you clowns any longer." she snapped.

She broke through the wall and walked outside, not bothering to put the block back up. A few seconds later, they heard a shout from outside, and the next moment Rexum came walking through the wall holding Raven's arm tightly.

"I do not care if you are well enough to leave, I cannot let ANYONE go away on their own." he said tersely.

Raven attempted for the second time to break his grip, but being the wizard he was, Rexum's grip was maintained. Rexum pushed her back onto the stretcher and said,

"You've been through a traumatic experience, just rest here."

Raven finally got her hand free, which she used to push HIM away.

"I'm not staying here! I have a family, y'know!"

"No, no you don't." said Rexum.

Then there was a pause. Raven was giving him a mixture of a glare and look of puzzlement.

"How did you—"

"I am a wizard, Raven."

Raven rolled her eyes and replied sharply,

"Ha, yeah right. Wizards don't exist."

Rexum paused for a moment himself, and then lifted his staff, twirling it in the air. Another one of those golden clouds came out of it, and instead of hobbling onto it like a normal old man would he jumped acrobatically onto it. He flew around the room on the cloud and then landed in front of Raven, who's eyes were already wide.

"Ok, so maybe you are a wizard. So what?!" she walked towards the checkered barrier blocking them from the outside world. "I still don't belong here, even if I don't have family! I'm a nomad!"

"I do not care if you are a nomad, I can't let anyone leave this cave unless I am with them." he gestured behind him at the other two golden stretchers that held the charred figures of Lucas and Bonbon. "We are still waiting for the boy and his pet to wake up, and then we leave for the Void Transport in the center of Buenomalo."

Raven looked around at everyone—they were pretty much all staring at her. Finally, she sat down on the empty stretcher.

"Fine, but I'm leaving as soon as the kid and the Creeper wake up." she muttered.

"You stay with us." Rexum said firmly, making it clear that the conversation was over.

Raven just stared with her sunken eyes at the stone wall. Suddenly, everyone else just felt a mixture of both boredom and discomfort. Nobody really knew what to do; they were all stuck inside a cave that was only 7x5x4 with too many people in too little of space. But no one dared disobey Rexum again, not after all the stuff they've done against him. Of course, they all felt guilty that they'd been careless, but it all still seemed like injustice.

It was a good sign when Adrian shouted out that Lucas was muttering in his sleep now. Practically everyone—except Raven, who continued to stare at the wall—cheered at the great news. They'd be out of there in no time!

And then night fell, and Rexum put down the Eyestone to protect them. No one had brought their beds, so they had to sleep on the cold stone floor. The frostiness of the Eyestone didn't help, either. Mark found himself lying down next to Kelsey. She silently clasped her hand around his and squeezed it comfortingly. In his mind he thought,

"Well, even with these circumstances, at least I still have Kelsey.,,"

They fell asleep that way, their two hands still clutching the other.

* * *

Mark had another interesting dream, only this one was about his old girlfriend. He rarely ever got those considering how hazy she usually was in his mind.

He was back in the sixth grade. It was after school, and he was just chilling up in the monkey bars, lying on his back with his arms folded together. He was just watching the clouds go by, trying not to think about his schoolwork if he could help it. After a while he got bored and came down on the woodchips to head home.

As he was walking, he noticed a girl sitting with her headphones in, singing along to what sounded like "American Idiot" by Green Day. Something about her looked familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on it. So Mark just kept walking on as normal.

Then the next day came, the classes oozed along as usual, and then he found himself staring into the clouds again. It was the typical routine. As he was jumping down from the monkey bars he heard some shouting. While he walked through the woodchips toward his route heading home he glanced to his side and saw the girl with the headphones again, only this time she was singing to "Jesus of Suburbia". Only this time, there were other people with her. It looked like a group of three guys, and they were all standing over her, shouting out vulgar comments.

Mark didn't think much of it, but then he saw one of the taller boys take her iPod with the headphones still in it, and then throw it on the ground, stepping on it with his black sneaker. He heard a chink of breaking glass and knew that her iPod was a goner. Mark had bad experiences from getting involved in fights, and so he just kept walking. But then he heard a scream come from the girl, and he saw the three boys shoving her around. And then he saw a flash of red, and he couldn't stand it any longer.

Mark ran towards the group of guys and shouted,

"Hey! Leave her alone, you jerks!"

The boys all turned around to face him, and Mark stopped in his tracks. It was Brock, Jordan and Max, the three main school jerks. They stepped towards him, all grinning stupidly with their hands in their jacket pockets.

"Hey guys," said Brock, the leader (easily the jerkiest of them all). "It's the noob!"

They all laughed at him, but Mark payed no attention to them, he was too busy looking at the girl. It looked as though they had broken her nose, because blood was pouring out. He could care less about being insulted, he was more concerned about her getting medical help; her nose was looking extremely bad, or at least to him it looked that way. The girl, who was on her knees, was looking at him with a pained expression on her face, her hands trying to stop the blood flow.

"Move out of the way." muttered Mark.

He walked forward, but they just formed a wall to block him.

"What do you think you're doing? Flatfront here is with us."

"Looks more like she's against you." snapped Mark.

He tried getting around them, but Max held out his arm. The next moment, the three of them were in a triangle around him. This is where Mark's panic started to set in. He knew he shouldn't have gotten involved, he knew this would happen. Brock rolled up his jacket sleeves and said,

"Ever play "Pretzel", noob?"

Mark knew immediately that he was in trouble. He didn't dare shout out for help, he couldn't get caught by a teacher. Without needing an answer, Brock stepped closer and cracked his knuckles.

"Well, you're about to learn."

But before he could even so much as lay a finger on Mark, Brock let out a shout of great pain and whirled around wildly. The girl with the broken nose had launched herself onto Brock's back and bit hard into the soft skin of his ear, which was the only vulnerable area. In the confusion, Mark ducked under Brock—not after getting hit a considerable amount by Jordan and Max—and grabbed the girl. She had gotten punched again, this time in the eye.

Before the three of them could figure out what to do, Mark got the girl onto his back and ran off with her riding piggyback. There were shouts from behind them, but Mark knew they were big and stupid, so even while carrying the girl he was able to get away. He ran with her on his back all the way home. He threw open the front door to his house and tore into the living room, setting her down on the couch. Mark's mom came in a few moments later holding a coffee mug.

"Mark, don't slam the—"

When she saw the girl sitting in a bloody mess on the couch, the coffee cup slipped out of her hand and shattered on the ground.

"Oh my God! Let me get some washcloths!"

She ran into the kitchen while Mark had his hand on the girl's hand, squeezing it for comfort.

"Are you ok?"

She was crying blood, her lip quivering, but she looked at him and nodded slowly. The next moment, his mom came back with a wet washcloth. She kneeled down in front of the girl and said,

"Everything's going to be ok..."

Then Vanessa came into the living room with her nose stuck in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows". She looked up and saw her mom wiping off the girl's bloody face with a wet cloth.

She quickly set down her book and walked over.

"What happened?" she murmured, looking from the girl to Mark, who was still trying to comfort her.

Mark looked up and muttered,

"I'll tell you later."

So they sat there for another half hour, the whole of the time spent cleaning her up. It was clear they'd have to bring her to the hospital to fix her broken nose, so that's exactly what they did. As they were hopping into their sleek black van, Vanessa ran up and said,

"Can I come? Pleeeeeeaaaaase?"

Mark's mom didn't let her come, and they just drove off towards the nearest St. Jude hospital. Mark sat next to the girl in the back. A few minutes of silence went by, but then Mark broke it.

"Why were they being mean to you?" he asked.

The girl sniffed and rubbed her wetting eyes.

"They were making fun of my singing."

"Why?"

"Because they're all jerks, and what reasons do jerks need for stuff like this?! They just do things for no reason at all..." she muttered angrily.

There was a slight silence, but then Mark asked her another question.

"Hey, what's your name?"

She looked up at him for one quiet moment. And then she said this,

"Kelsey."

* * *

Mark's eyes snapped open as he left the dream. He was cold, but inside he felt extremely hot. Kelsey! He knew this girl! Kelsey had been the one those years ago who had been his only girlfriend. Suddenly, memories started flooding into his mind. He saw all the times he ever rescued her from those jerks, the times they went out together, the times when they kissed under the cover of night after those many school dances. He even saw the moment when she had nearly drowned in the waters of Cocoa Beach near his house...

And then he saw the day she died. He was there. They had been going on a bike ride together; they were going to the park. She insisted they just go to the beach, but Mark wanted to take her to see the new oak trees they had planted. They had been biking for a half an hour, and Kelsey was getting tired, but Mark said they were almost there. She must have needed her rest, because a few minutes later, she had swerved too far into the road, and she was hit from behind by a truck. The images of her body being carried on a stretcher into an ambulance flashed by his eyes in a blur.

Then the images faded, and Mark was left lying there with his eyes glued to the stone ceiling, the sounds of soft breathing and some snores drifting softly in the cool cave air, tears running down his cheeks onto the flat ground. He realized right then and there that—it was so clear to him, but too clear—he was the one who is to blame for his friend's death. He killed the one he loved more than anybody, HE killed her. Now Mark understood exactly why Kelsey had avoided him all this time. He understood all too well...

* * *

**Oh... My... Poptart... How could it be? The old girlfriend that Mark hardly could remember, was Kelsey? She had been lying next to the girl from his past this whole time? And HE was the reason she was hit by that truck? I can't believe it...**

**Well, after a very revealing chapter, how about we move onto some more QAA? (By the way Jhon, I will NOT be answering any more questions you have to ask if they are M-rated, got it?)**

**To Gabe's zombie horse (Felix): What happened to you? You were gonna be the best companion EVA! ;-;**

Felix: Do not worry, I am always here. But, I do hope that the new horse Elmer does not hog the spotlight; that would NOT be good for me.

**To the Glitch: Yes, that is all I have to say to you. I'm the Nostalgic Critic, I remember it so you don't have to. *gets up from chair and walks away***

The Glitch: You would never have the caliber to become the Nostalgic Critic! Only great people are worthy for that job! AND YOU MY FRIEND, NO, MY FOE, ARE NOT PART OF THAT CALIBER! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

**To Mark: One word, budder.**

Mark: BUDDER FTW! X33333 I love Skydoesminecraft!

**To Kelsey: *scratches belly***

Kelsey: *backs away and becomes embarrassed* Hey, only Mark is allowed to do that, so don't even think about it! *becomes extremely self-conscious*

**To Gabe: THIS ISN'T SPARTA; THIS IS MINECRAFT! Elementalanimation.**

Gabe: Is that even a word? And besides, I didn't choose to wear this... I mean, I did when I played Minecraft on Earth, but it's still stuck as my MC skin, so it's not like I can be reborn and change it! I do wish that was possible, I'd change myself to look like the REAL gentleman I strive to be. *sniffs in a dignified way*

**To All: EXACTLY WHAT IS THE GLITCH?**

Mark: The Glitch... Well, I'm pretty sure that's what I saw when I first landed in Minecraft. It's like a huge blob of plasma with red eyes and a mouth or something. I've already seen all that it can do, and I'll be perfectly honest; if we get caught by that thing when we sneak through the Void Palace, I'm going to crap myself. :/

Vanessa: Quite simply, it's a large shifting mass of black plasma created from the combined viruses that we find in our everyday lives in computers. It is actually a complex solution if it can become physical, but the viruses would have to combine and extract bugged plasma from their programs to create this physical blah blah blah blah blah blah blah— *general blahing goes on for another ten minutes*

Kelsey: It's mean, that's what! It's killed so many people!

Gabe: The Glitch is the evil virus that is possessing all the dimensions around us as we speak. I surely hope that the Spirits In Between have another plan to destroy it... For the third time...

Adrian: Well, I'mah not exactly sure, partner. Isn't it some kinda space alien or something?

Raven: That's the evil dude who's trying to take over the universe, right? *says while staring at a stone wall with sunken eyes* Hey! Stop describing me in such a stereotypical way! Just because I'm a Goth doesn't mean I have sunken eyes!

Lucas: The Glitch is a jerk, that's what it is! DX

Rexum: It is nothing more than the combination of the filthiest, darkest, most evil substances in the world all formed together in an indestructible mass that is capable of ripping through the fabric of space and time itself.

The Glitch: _WHAT AM I?! WHAT AM IIIIIIIIIII?! I AM THE SUPREME LORD VIRUS OF THESE PUNY DIMENSIONS! I AM THE LORD THAT WILL SWALLOW ALL OF THE UNIVERSE AND ITS DIMENSIONS IN A BLACK HOLE OF DARKNESS AND COLD! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!_

Salutem: The Glitch, unfortunately, is my twin. My evil twin, technically. I am the Glitch from the past that decided that I wanted to go on a path of good, and my twin is the Glitch from what was the present at the time, and it still wants to destroy everything. I am ashamed that we are related...

The Mastermind: Eeheeheeheehee, well, if you must know, I think that the Glitch is just another airhead! Eeheeheeheeheehee! Ah yes, that would describe him perfectly! X3333333333

The Spherical Specter: _THE GLITCH IS ANOTHER OBSTACLE THAT I HAVE TO OVERCOME BEFORE I RULE THESE DIMENSIONS!_

Mickey: _It's scary to me... :P_

Bonbon: It's such a m-meanie! I get scared at the th-thought of it!

Ridere: Hissssssssssssssssssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. ..

Clamatis: Hisssssssssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhsssssssssss hhhhhhhhhhh...

Felix: The Glitch is cruel and unusual, that is all I have to say on its behalf.

Elmer: I must agree with Felix, the Glitch is not one to be favored.

Lalita: The Glitch... Where to start... Well, it's hard for me to hate or love it, because it's neither a boy nor girl, so really I am quite neutral. :/

Squid Horde: SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEORK!

Colossal Squid: SQUEEGLESQUEORKSQUORKLESQUUUUUEEEEEEK!

Matilda: The Glitch? Aha, yes, the Glitch... I love talking about the Glitch to annoy my master, he's always saying that HE'D be the one to rule the universe, but I know what would really happen. ;D

Amelia: D-don't t-t-talk about th-the Glitch! It's t-too s-s-s-scary! I-I-I... *gets comforting hug from Notch*

Notch: *while hugging Amelia to calm her down, he says,* The Glitch is evil. You can describe it in one word: EVIL! "Cruel" could be another. The Glitch is completely ripped of any emotions, it is programmed to consume, and it will not stop at doing so. I fear for all our lives...

Norman: It's a virus, and that's that. It's cruel and coldhearted, if it even has a heart at all.

Lizzy: It's a compilation of all different viruses into one. That's my best explanation.

Professor Explotar: Well, it's all my fault that this came to be. Technically, I'm supposed to be dead from being possessed by the Glitch, but the public doesn't know I'm still here; just everyone in this building. Anyway, I had attempted to break into the brain of my E.S.C. supercomputer, and the viruses had combined the plasma that they contained to create the Glitch. When it first started out, the Glitch was actually just the size of a marble, but it grew as it consumed more and more.

Narcissa: It's a virus, as far as I can tell. Even I can't explain its chemical compound, it's all too complex, far beyond my understanding.

Danny: A jerk, a jerk, aaaaaand a double jerk. Yep, that's the Glitch in a nutshell.

Quinn: Dude, it's like, evil and stuff. It's totally evil, like, more evil than I can think of, dude.

Bailey: I can't even comprehend what it is, all I can say is that it's a monster, that's what! It took Lucas... *sniffles*

German Clerk: Excuse me, but I do not have time to answer stupid American questions... Goodbye, I have other work to attend to. *starts gabbing in German to someone at the desk*

Fourth Wall Repairman: It's a monster that rips the fabric of space and time. In other words, I got a payraise as soon as it appeared, because now I repair fourth walls left and right. That has its ups and downs, I'll just say that.

**To Bonbon: Ok since the 4th wall hasn't been repaired yet we can get stuff in so... HELP IS ON THE WAY! I cast Cure Serious Wounds, Agent C4 drink this gun powder milk, Cupa (she's from that one mod just search her on DeviantArt) see if you can do anything! We are not going to let her die, not today. Don't go into the light.**

Bonbon: I see a light... But it's not to the Aether, it's to somewhere else... Not the Nether, either... I can't tell, but it might be sunlight...

**To Mark:*puts code in so mark has to use the bedrock sword and deletes diamond swords from touching his skin***

Mark: *still has his diamond sword* Ha, yeah right. You'd have to prove to me that you can change code, dude.

**To Mark: Perhaps you could be the host of parties when you get home.**

Mark: That's a great idea! Well, it's a great idea, but if I don't actually live through this, it wouldn't matter anyway... Oh well, I've got a commitment now, and there's no turning back.

**Well, for next time, what will happen when Norman and Liz come back into the world of Minecraft to try and find Mark and Vanessa? Did Raven actually burn up the house, or is she somehow being framed? And HOW will Mark be able to live with himself now that he knows that he is responsible for his closest friend's death? But for now, this is Pastrinator64, and I'll see you later with chapter numbah sixteen!**

***throws sugar bomb, disappears in a cloud of fine white sugar***

**Byyyyyeeeeee...**

**~Pastrinator64 [~]**


	16. Chapter 16: On The Move Again

**Hello, this is Pastrinator64 with a long-awaited chapter from VOiD. Listen guys, I'm REALLY sorry about the wait on this next chapter. I got really, really sick and didn't really feel like doing anything except rest, so I didn't get opportunities to write often. Plus, even after I got better I had bad writer's block, so I found myself between a rock and a hard place for a few days.**

**Anyway, now we can get onto more replies to reviews!**

Replies To Reviews...

**YoshiEmblem: **I know, right? I could picture the whole flashback of her death in my mind as I wrote. And the Goth girl Raven WILL have some importance, that's for sure. *maniacal laugh* XD

**Volcanic the hedgehog: **Well, not for Adrian. Anyway, about Raven: She was probably just in a really bad mood where she wouldn't believe anything if it weren't simple. Make sense, right?

**Nwinds: **Thanks for your support. I was thinking about just ignoring Jhon, but honestly, I knew he'd just keep putting crap in his reviews, so I couldn't just leave it.

**Somebody10101: **Shame on Mark? Or on me? Please be Mark. :(

**Kyle McShade: **Well, if I left it there then it'd be a shorter chapter than I wanted, so I kept it going. It still worked out, so I don't think it matters much.

**Right then! Now to get on with the story!**

**Hello, this is Pastrinator64 with another chapter from VOiD. Last time on VOiD we watched first as Norman and Lizzy finally arrived in Berlin, Germany for their meeting with Professor Explotar. Once they had reached him, they found that the portal found by the US Army soldiers twenty years ago had been restored to its former glory, and so they finally stepped through the other end back into Minecraft once more. Mark awoke during the aftermath of the big fire. Not only were he, Lucas and Bonbon the ones to be found unconscious, but one other person; an unenthusiastic gothic chick named Raven Clawfall. Then they were shut up in a small cave for the night, unable to go anywhere without Lucas and Bonbon being awake. That night Mark dreamt of his old girlfriend for the first time in a while, and at the end of his pleasant dream he realized that his old girlfriend on Earth had been Kelsey without him knowing it. He also realized that HE was the reason she had been hit by that truck and died at such a young age. With this horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach, Mark spends more hours stuck in the cave with Kelsey and the others, every minute of which he spends relenting over his unforgiveable mistake.**

**Now, let the story commence!**

* * *

_Chapter 16: On The Move Again_

After what seemed like an eternity, the morning arrived, letting individual beams of light stream through the checkered barrier into the cave where they slept. Mark got almost zero sleep because of that one dream he had. It was a dream that would change his life forever, and to be honest, Mark didn't like this kind of change. He couldn't stop thinking about it; he was the reason that Kelsey died from getting hit by a truck at too young of an age.

He and Kelsey were still holding hands from when they had gone to sleep like that, but Mark felt his being all sweaty and gross, and he quickly let go. Kelsey woke up a few moments later, probably from the sudden movement, and she looked up at Mark with a smile.

"Mmmhmm, good morning." she murmured quietly.

Mark couldn't stand to look at her, and he just stared past her at a wall with a blank expression. He just couldn't think of ANYTHING except how stupid he was back then! Kelsey noticed that he wasn't acting himself, and she propped herself up on her elbows to get a better look of him.

"Mark, what's wrong?"

Mark shook his head and looked away.

"It's nothing, I just had a bad dream, that's all."

He felt Kelsey clutch his hand from behind.

"Well, what was it about?"

Mark wanted desperately to get out of the situation, but he couldn't think of a way to escape. Thankfully, Adrian came by a moment later with some porkchops sizzling in his iron frying pan. He took out a stick and gave Mark a stick. Mark skewered the fried porkchop and then held it up.

"Thanks." he murmured.

Kelsey took one as well, and the two of them ate in silence for a few minutes. Mark tried to stretch his on as long as possible to avoid further discussion, taking bite-sized portions. Halfway through his porkchop, somebody shouted out from the back of the cave.

"He is waking up!"

Mark turned his head to look towards the wall and saw that somebody else was sitting up from their stretcher. It was Lucas! Rexum had healed up most of his skin, so he still had some burns here and there, but he was strong enough where he had woken up and was sitting upright on his golden stretcher. Everybody was rushing over to him, and soon enough he was pushing people back.

"What...? What's going on?!" he muttered groggily.

Rexum cleared a path so that Lucas could stand up. Rexum put a hand on his shoulder and said,

"Lucas, are you strong enough to walk?"

Lucas tried to walk, but his knees just buckled and he almost fell, but was caught by Rexum.

"Apparently not..." said Rexum.

Everyone groaned at the same time; now they'd have to wait even longer to get out of that tiny cave. For another few hours people just milled around the room, wondering what to do, and if they'd EVER get out of there.

Finally, night came and they were able to rest; hopefully they'd be able to move on the next day.

* * *

Mark had another dream involving his old life with Kelsey...

Now he was in the seventh grade. He was walking with Kelsey on his way home, and they were talking about the upcoming day when they would be taking a walk on the beach just to talk and hang out and have fun. It would be a nice break from schoolwork, that's for sure. As they were walking, Mark noticed that Kelsey kept moving closer and closer to him. Mark just grinned and put an arm around her shoulder, pulling her next to him.

"I saw that."

Kelsey blushed and looked away.

"Er, what? Saw what? I didn't do anything..."

Mark pulled her back and said,

"You were trying to get closer to me, weren't you?"

Kelsey didn't answer, but her cheeks reddened twice as bright. The rest of the walk was in an awkward silence. Once Mark had reached his house, he said goodbye to Kelsey, and they went their separate ways.

Then Mark awoke the next day at 9:00 exactly. It was still February, so the air was chilly, but at least there wasn't rain or snow. There hardly was snow, anyway. He leapt out of bed, threw some strawberry Poptarts in the toaster, and then headed out the door. His mom and dad were at work, and Vanessa was still sleeping, so he was able to sneak out unheard and unseen. As he was walking towards Cocoa Beach, he felt underneath his shirt, fingering the good luck Poptart necklace his dad had given him the previous year. He said that his mom gave it to him when they were teenagers, and that he might as well pass it down.

Kelsey was wearing a gray sweatshirt to keep warm, and she was curled with her knees pressed to her chest, looking out at the sunrise. She turned to see Mark coming a few seconds later, grinned, and then stood up, putting her hands in her pockets.

"Hey!" she said.

Mark walked up to her and said,

"So, shall we walk?"

She nodded, and so they began to walk side by side down the sandy beach. At first there was silence, but then Kelsey said,

"So... Can I get an update on the moving situation?"

Mark's dad was thinking about moving them down to Florida because of a business opportunity, but they still hadn't decided, because he already had a lot on his plate at the moment. Mark had been dreading the possibility of never seeing his friends again, but not as much as Kelsey, who wouldn't let go of his arm the day he first told her about it. Mark took a few silent steps, but then he said,

"Well... I don't know for sure. My dad talked to us when the whole family was around, and... It sounds like he really wants to do this."

Kelsey looked at him and said,

"Ohh, come on! Then you'd be gone forever and I'd have nobody to talk to! Those school jerks would just go back to bothering me if you left!"

Mark lowered his head to stare at his feet.

"I'm sorry, I wish I could tell you everything, but I don't even know what'll happen."

He heard Kelsey sniffle, and when he turned to look at her she was wiping her eyes with her sweatshirt. He felt horrible inside, so he moved close to her and put an arm over her shoulder.

"Hey, it's ok. I swear, I won't go through with this." he said.

Kelsey looked up at him, tears still in her eyes, her lip quivering.

"You don't know how crappy my life would turn out if you left. I'd be so lonely..."

Mark patted her on the back and pulled her into a comforting hug. They stood close together, Mark squeezing her tight, doing all he could to assure her that he wouldn't leave. But in his mind, Mark knew that it was easily possible that he'd never see her again, and that the move to Florida could be next month already.

A few moments later, Kelsey looked up at him, her face wet with tears. Then he put her arms around his neck and pulled his face to hers, and they kissed. That was the day of Mark's first kiss, and it was possibly the happiest moment of his life...

Then the next day, Mark bounced and pumped his fist all the way to school, and was met with shrieks of joy from Kelsey. The night of that day on Cocoa Beach, Mark's dad said that he had decided to stay here, that Mac headquarters couldn't handle the business without him. Mark and Kelsey jumped for joy for nearly ten minutes straight, and Mark felt ecstatic for a whole month. He had nothing to worry about anymore, and boy did it feel great...

* * *

When Mark woke from his dream that following morning there was a smile on his face. Also, Vanessa was standing over him. When she saw that he was awake, she lifted an eyebrow and said,

"Mark, you've been smiling in your sleep for nearly a half hour now."

Mark's smile disappeared.

"Go read your book, child."

Vanessa grumbled and walked away, swinging Cantatis back and forth heftily. Mark sat up on the floor and looked around. Lucas was the only one still asleep, and everyone else was either lying on the floor with bored expressions, fiddling with loose strings of their clothes, or just milling around the cave. Rexum was hovering in the center of the room above his Eyestone, humming softly with his eyes closed. Adrian was sitting at the edge of the room, dully plinking the strings on his banjo. The atmosphere was all too dull for Mark's taste, but he knew that if he even tried to escape the cave, Rexum would find out before he even broke past the checkered barrier.

And then something exciting happened that totally broke the mood that had been cast heavily throughout the cave. Rexum flew down from his position in the air and landed in front of Lucas.

"Wait a second..." he muttered.

Now everybody was hurrying over to him. He was looking at Lucas, who was still zonked out on his golden stretcher. Rexum put an ancient hand over Lucas's forehead, waited a few moments, and then pulled it back suddenly. Without warning, he brought his hand back down and slapped Lucas on the cheek, waking him up with a scream of pain.

"YOU HAVE BEEN LYING! YOU ARE PERFECTLY WELL AND CERTAINLY WELL ENOUGH TO WALK, AND YOU HAVE BEEN THAT WAY EVER SINCE AN HOUR AFTER THE FIRE! YOU REALIZE THAT YOUR LAZINESS HAS COST US OVER TWO FULL DAYS?! WE ARE RUNNING OUT OF TIME AS IT IS! HOW IMPUDENT!" Rexum slapped Lucas hard on the same cheek, and Lucas just screamed and fell over and off the stretcher, whimpering and hiding underneath it.

Rexum destroyed the golden stretcher with a twitch of his hand, leaving Lucas curled up in a ball on the floor. He looked up at Rexum and said,

"I-I swear I wasn't f-faking it!"

"LIAR!" shouted Rexum, turning on his heel to stomp away. As he paced the room, he said, "I can read your thoughts, boy, and I could tell in an instant that you have been lying. We need all the time possible, for we have very little of it! How do you expect we will be able to get to the Void Transport before the Glitch decides to shut it down?!"

Rexum stopped by the checkered barrier and waved his wand, making it disappear instantly.

"We are leaving now!"

The cheer that echoed through the cave was almost deafening. Mark's ears actually popped somewhere during the screaming session. He also noticed that Raven—no matter what—just stayed looking like a ghost. As everybody was pouring out of the cave, Adrian started on a very quick-paced banjo solo. As Mark was laughing and talking along with everyone else, he saw something black from the corner of his eye, and when he turned his head he saw Raven shuffling away, her black hood pulled up. Mark paused for a moment, looked back at his group, and decided to go talk her into staying. She did seem lonely, and besides, the more the merrier, right?

As Mark was running up to her, he heard her shout,

"Don't bother, kid!"

Mark stopped in his tracks and watched her walk away. A few moments later he ran forward again and grabbed her shoulder. She whirled around and slapped his hand so he would let go.

"I told you, I'm not coming with you or your gang of circus freaks!"

Raven turned back around and walked off, but Mark stopped her by walking right in her path.

"C'mon, Rexum said—"

"I don't care what the crackpot said, I'm a nomad, and that means I travel alone! Besides, I don't want to spend any more time with that redneck back there."

Mark shook his head and said,

"Just because he has a banjo doesn't mean—"

At that point Rexum came dashing over.

"Raven, I believe I demanded that you accompany us! It is too dangerous now for you to wander off all alone like you have been doing in these previous years."

Rexum clasped a hand around her wrist, and she immediately reacted by biting down hard on it. But for some reason, Rexum didn't let go, and when Raven realized this she stopped biting, and they could see that Rexum had cast a spell over his own hand to protect it.

"You are coming with me, young lady."

Rexum took them both back to the group, and they continued on with their walk. Mark kept glancing over at Raven, who just sulked along with the usual dead look on her face. He hated seeing people unenthusiastic, but then again, how do you make a Goth enthusiastic about something other than gloom and pain?

They spent the rest of the day walking, talking, joking, and listening to Adrian play the banjo. It was great now that they could stretch their legs for the first time in two days. After some long hours of joyous walking, it was time to rest again, and when Mark looked ahead he could see a range of massive mountains coming up.

They set up camp for the night—it wasn't actually a camp, it was just all of them packing together on the ground like sardines because they had no beds. Once the Eyestone had been put up to protect them from the mutating landscape, everybody tried as best they could to sleep, but considering the cold and the charisma that was wafting through the air, it was really hard to fall asleep.

* * *

Meanwhile, high up in the air-born heaven locally known as the Aether, Notch and his Mojang crew were NOT inside the Aether Palace, but instead were hiding behind an extremely large bush.

Yes, they'd been hiding behind that bush for a few days now, and it was all because of the Glitch. As a very late April Fools joke, the Glitch had used its manipulating powers to make all items of clothing that Notch and his crew owned disappear. Unfortunately, Notch and co. had been outside giving a speech about the Glitch's return to the Aetherians when it happened, so they all had to leap off of the stage and hide somewhere, the sound of the crowd's laughter echoing in their heads. Now Notch found himself hiding in the brush with the rest of his crew wearing only leaves to cover up.

Notch peered through the bush at the Aether Palace, which was within sight. Unfortunately, cameramen and reporters were swarming every inch of it, and probably were inside. If they caught him in his leaf outfit, the press would have a field day.

From behind him, Steve said,

"Lord Notch, what are we supposed to do now?"

Henrik Pettersson (otherwise known as Carnalizer) spoke up to his right.

"Can't you just use commands to get rid of them?"

"No, Carnalizer, I cannot do that." muttered Notch. "It's against the law to use commands on the Aetherian community, it's against the law unless for purposes involving the law. In my opinion, this should qualify as nothing less than crime, but I can't remove them. I could transport us inside, but I don't know where we could find a private room, they're probably sniffing us down right now."

Then to his left, Jeb said,

"Just transport us into a bathroom; it's illegal for them to search there."

Notch nodded and said,

"Alright, good enough." he grouped together the cluster of employees. Including him there were thirty of them there, and then there was Steve as well, so they were kind of difficult to hide. Seven of them were missing—Carl Manneh, Aron Nieminen, Mattis 'BomBoy' Grahm, Leonard 'xlson' Axelsson, Kristoffer Jelbring, Karin Severinson and Daniel 'C418' Rosenfeld. Once everyone was together—at the moment being a group of thirty-one—Notch whispered,

"Alright, I'm going to use a spawn command to get us into one of those bathrooms."

In his head, Notch thought, /spawn 639x 3394y 10245z. They disappeared the next instant and then reappeared inside a roomy bathroom made of smooth holystone.

"Perfect!" whispered Notch.

Somewhere in the crowd Kappische muttered,

"Ok, what do we do now?"

"I'll have to get us all into the Nether. If we can find Herobrine, he'll be able to help us. But we mustn't... Be... SEEN..."

They all nodded and murmured in agreement.

"And how are we going to walk four floors down to the portal room behind your throne? We'll be seen for sure!" said Jeb.

Notch pondered over that for a moment. Just as he was thinking of a solution, the door to the bathroom opened. It wasn't the paparazzi, nor was it an Aetherian, but it was just a—

* * *

Well, at the same time, the Glitch was laughing its nonexistent head off—obviously at the prank it pulled on Notch and the rest of Mojang. The Glitch knew that it had the universe wrapped around its wing, so it figured that it might as well have some fun with the heroes in the meantime.

Once the Glitch was done laughing—which didn't happen for a while—it just sighed and then stepped off of its plasma throne to slither around. Ben, who was getting darker and darker by the hour, watched the Glitch move around the throne room.

_"Well, Ben, I must say... Our plan is going perfectly. Those foolish heroes will get quite a surprise when they reach the Void Transport, that is for certain..."_

Ben bowed and said,

"I agree, Lord Glitch..."

The Glitch slithered around some more before moving up to an open window to look far out at the kingdom's square, which, at one point, glowed with a beautiful blue light, but now was extinguished to a mere pulse of red.

_"Still, I have been observing them as they travel, and one of their members seems highly suspicious. I cannot jump in and kill him now, because if I am wrong my whole plan would crumble. The Spirits In Between would immediately detect my rise in negative energy and I would be exposed. I am not yet ready to oppose them; I still need to meditate for a small while longer..."_

Ben stayed in the bowing position.

"I agree, Lord Glitch."

The Glitch turned around to face Ben. For a moment, it paused, but then it moved forward and said,

_"Do I hear an edge of resentment in your tone, Ben? You know that now that Salutem has fled that you are my servant until death. You are no longer loyal to the horrific creation that is my counterpart."_

Ben lifted its eyes and looked at the Glitch.

"Yes, L-L-Lord _G-G-G-G-G-Glitch..."_

The Glitch's glowing red mouth curled into a wicked grin.

"I see that you are still attempting to fight off my powers. Well Ben, you must realize that it is impossible to resist me. You are getting darker by the hour, and soon enough even your voice will become like mine and all the others'. Stop fighting and make it easier for yourself."

Ben's red eyes flicked back to blue for a few moments, and it looked as though it was struggling. Its plasma body was flickering between white and black as well, and all of it was seizing up.

"N-N-N-N-N-No... I w-w-w-w-wont-t-t-t-t-t..."

The Glitch slithered forward and towered over Ben. It extended a wing threateningly and declared,

"I said give yourself to ME!"

A black beam of crackling plasma flew from the tip of the Glitch's wing, which constricted tightly around Ben. Ben screeched in an unearthly way and struggled against its bonds, shaking violently. Then words began to spill slowly from its mouth...

"...I..._Will...Obey..."_

The bonds were released, and Ben just melted into a black puddle on the floor, his eyes flashing dully. The Glitch turned to face the open window again and retracted its wing.

_"Good, that is exactly what I wanted to hear. Now then, you WILL cooperate as we go through with our plan, Ben. You will NOT do anything to reveal where we hide, and you will NOT disobey me."_

Ben's mouth had spilled somewhere past his body, but it still managed to form the words, _"Yes, Lord Glitch..."_.

The Glitch continued to shuffle around the room, and then it stopped by the open window and looked up into the blackness of The Void.

_"Still, during the cover of this night I can perform part of my master plan that will ensure my rise to complete and utter power. Once I have absorbed the three other Souls I will be unstoppable. In fact, tonight is the perfect opportunity to absorb the Darkness Soul. Don't you agree, Ben?"_

Ben had finally managed to bring itself back together out of its puddle form, and it bowed before replying,

_"I agree, Lord Glitch."_

* * *

**I apologize that this chapter isn't as long as it usually is. Like I said before, I was sick and having MAJOR writer's block. Anyway, what is this about a secret plan, huh? Have any ideas? (I do cuz I invented it. X333)**

**Now then, we can talk about that later, but for now how about we give out some QAA!**

**To the Glitch: I'm wayyyyyy cooler than you. I've got purple eyes and can teleport... I have a DRAGON! What do you have? Stupid computer viruses that can get cleaned up by McCafé or something...**

The Glitch: WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?! HOW DARE YOU?! I will have you know that I can summon any creature I want with my infective powers! And also, DO NOT insult McCafé! I personally love their McCafé Frappé, so you PISS ME OFF! I DO NOT EVEN FEEL LIKE GIVING YOU A SAMPLE OF MY MANIACAL LAUGH!

**To the Glitch: Bet you can't go an entire QAA without laughing evilly! If you do, I'll stop pestering you with questions.**

The Glitch: *exaggerates laugh* MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! That is my way of saying, "NOBODY CHALLENGES THE LORD GLITCH!" MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

**To the Glitch: Baddest super villain ever, here's a present. *gives The Glitch the same present Danny got* Never gets old.**

The Glitch: Yes, yes, very funny... *brushes chunks of ice from wings* Now it's my turn! *freezes you in sub-zero plasma for all eternity* MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

**To Kelsey: Have a baby sheep! It comes with a comfy two person bed. ;)**

Kelsey: Ohhhh... Yeah, what I wouldn't give to sleep next to Mark. I'd be warm all night, not to mention the fact that I'd never feel lonely again... Ah, that is a dream I have a lot, I must admit. ^-^

**To Norman and Lizzy: Excited to reenter Minecraftia?**

Norman: I'll admit, I am kind of excited, I guess. It's been a while, and when there's the possibility of meeting some old friends I guess it gets me excited.

Lizzy: I agree with Norman. I can't wait! I would love to meet Joe or Quinn or... I was about to say Danny, but I don't know if he's, well... If he still resents us or not.

**To Mark: What was your favorite game series on Earth besides Minecraft.**

Mark: World of Warcraft, hands down, even if it means I'm a total geek. :3

**To the Mutated Bed From Chapter 4: DBFHFGFHDBFNDHEUFUGJHBBXHEHUHFFSDFNDJTK5JTYPI!**

Mutated Bed From Chapter 4: Hey, hey, hey! Someone actually speaks my real language! *whips off translation device* BLARHDFFFINDJFIOEJROWWPPAAIFBNGOAHGUEHEAOFNFNAAHGH !

**To Vanessa: Why don't you turn Cantatis into the Glove of Gloom and the Hammer of Notch?**

Vanessa: Woah, woah! Hold it, buddy! You do realize how powerful of magic I'd require to do that! Plus, to make the Glove of Gloom I'd need Dark magic instead of Light, which is something I can't obtain easily. Even if I did get my hands on Dark magic I wouldn't be able to control it. :/

**Well, that's it then! For next time, what new heroes and/or enemies will Mark and the crew meet as they enter the mountains? Will they all survive the trip, or will one of their number not make it through the rugged terrain? What interesting things can we expect to see come from Raven? Who exactly burst in on Notch and the Mojang crew? And WHAT is the Glitch planning, I mean really? ****But for now, this is Pastrinator64, and I'll see you later with chapter numbah seventeen!**

***throws sugar bomb, disappears in a cloud of fine white sugar***

**Byyyyyeeeeee...**

**~Pastrinator64 [~]**


	17. Chapter 17: To Kill An Enderdragon

**Hello, this is Pastrinator64 with yet another chapter from VOiD. I have finally broken through the barrier of writer's block, and I am raring to go once more!**

**On a rather unfortunate note, this upcoming Thursday is the day that I will be getting a full set of braces... D: Yeah, it's gonna suck buckets. I really hope I don't get writers block while I have those on at first, I don't like writer's block... At least I somewhat know what to expect; I've had braces once already, although that was the time when I only had one set on the top row... Well, wish me luck anyway, I think I'll need it. _**

**As long as we're here, I'm going to give out more replies to reviews!**

Replies To Reviews...

**Somebody10101: **I think Ben won't accept that fact, man.

**CSICreeper: **Uh, yeah. Ever seen Hoodwinked? If you have, then you'll know what I'm talking about when I saw you remind me of Twitchy the Squirrel.

**BfheadGamer: **Just to let you know, I'm answering that P.S. of yours as a question to the Mutated Bed From Chapter 4.

**Volcanic the hedgehog: **Actually, I've still got a sore throat, so that sucks buckets. Not as much as the braces I'll be getting, though. :(

**Now then, ON WITH THE STORY!**

**Hello, this is Pastrinator64 with yet another episode from VOiD. Last time on VOiD we watched as Norman and Lizzy finally reached their old friend Professor Explotar and once again entered the world of Minecraft. Then we switched to the view of Mark, where we watched as Lucas was revealed to be lying and in perfect condition. Rexum got really mad and they left immediately, which brought everyone into their great moods again. Meanwhile, Notch and the crew of Mojang had their own pressing matters to deal with, for the Glitch had pulled a prank and made their clothes disappear while they were in public, forcing them into leaf-clothing. Finally, we dropped back down into the Void Palace and watched as the Glitch revealed some small snippets about its master plan. Now we get to see everything from Queen Enderdragon's point of view, and to be honest, nothing is going well for her at the moment.**

**Now, let the story commence!**

* * *

_Chapter 17: To Kill An Enderdragon_

With all the chaos being caused by the Glitch, Queen Enderdragon was both stressed and in pain. Her Endermen empire was crumbling as it was, and at any moment the End could be attacked by the Glitch.

At the moment, Queen Enderdragon was flying over the obsidian pillars dotted around the End. The Endermen below her were scattering and screaming, carrying crying children and wailing babies. She couldn't calm any of them down, and that was the reason she was so stressed. With her Endermen population falling to pieces, so was she. Finally, the Queen got so frustrated that she landed atop the tallest pillar and let out a huge roar that echoed furiously through the cold air.

In an instant, all the Endermen below her halted to a stop and looked up at her. Her blazing violet eyes scanned the crowd for a moment before she began to speak.

"Citizens of the End! I must make it clear now that we are in a time of danger!"

Upon the word "danger" everybody started to panic and shout, but the Queen just stomped her foot to shake the whole island. Once they were quieted down again, she continued.

"This is a very desperate time, and that calls for desperate measures!" she said harshly. "I have made my decision!"

Her words hung in the tense air, the Endermen crowd hanging on every one of them.

"I have decided to open up the main portal back to the Overworld!"

The crowd gasped, and immediately they started screaming and shouting protests that were either angry, confused or frightened. Queen Enderdragon roared as loud as she could, which hurt her drying throat, and it caused her to start coughing heavily. She hovered down to the ground, scattering many Endermen, and lay down to rest. With the situation she was in, she had grown terribly sick from all her worry. Endermen swarmed her once again and started shouting out.

"Silence!" she shouted, quieting them again.

As people were shoving their way to reach their queen, paramedics streamed through the crowd and formed a ring around Queen Enderdragon. One of them spooned some blue liquid into her mouth, others just slid a machine around her to check her condition. Now everybody had gone from panicky to deathly silent. One by one, people shouted out frantically.

"Queen Enderdragon! If you open the portal you'll turn back into an egg!"

"What'll you do if the Glitch attacks you after you open the portal?!"

"We can't all leave you, you won't be safe!"

The paramedic finished spooning liquid into her mouth and she was able to speak again.

"My people, I must do this! You are all to travel into the Overworld and find the nearest civilization! You can't all teleport—that would alert the Minecraftians. I have already sent a messenger to a very expansive village called Smelttown! Once you arrive, the people living there will know that I have sent you in peace, and they will be aware of the conditions!"

"But the Glitch will kill you!"

Queen Enderdragon coughed heavily again, and finally regained her breath ten seconds later.

"The survival of the Enderman race is far more important than my safety, you must realize! I will not be disobeyed, you ALL will retreat this place! If I have to get you through the portal by force I will!"

There was an uproar of shouts from the Queen's subjects once more. The paramedics came around with a massive stretcher and lifted her onto it. With at least thirty Endermen surrounding her, she was carried towards the center of the island. They set the Queen down on the end stone ground where she was facing her hundreds of Endermen people.

"Alright, now is the time! All of you move far away from me, or you WILL be obliterated." declared Queen Enderdragon, closing her eyes.

Queen Enderdragon had a way to open the portal to the Overworld, but it would mean destroying herself and turning back into an egg. But if it meant that her people would be safe, she was willing to do it. In her mind she let her instinct take over, and she thought to herself the deadliest command ever created...

"/kill"

All went away, and the Queen only felt immense pain for a second. She felt herself drifting away, her body shriveling up, her mind being swept with a drowsy feeling...

And then, moments later she felt herself come back to life, only this time she was floating. Yes, she knew where she was now; back in her Enderdragon egg. She heard the garbled sound of many shouts from outside, which were so loud that the cool shell around her vibrated. After the shouts dulled, there was a massive thundering of footsteps. The shaking of her egg lasted for at least ten minutes, and then she heard the last person plunge into the portal, and then the closing of the portal afterward. Then all was quiet.

Queen Enderdragon, now just a baby, swam upward and scratched with her tiny claws at the shell of the egg, which she knew would only break from the inside going out. After minutes of scratching, the top of the egg cracked open, and a blast of cold air blew into the egg. Shivering and wet, little Queen Enderdragon climbed out of her egg and toppled over the edge onto the bedrock frame of the dead portal.

Her vision was still blurry from the warm liquid inside the egg, so she wandered almost blindly across the cold end stone ground. She stretched her slimy little wings and flapped into the air, but it was very tiring with her body being too big to carry for the delicate limbs.

But before she was able to even begin waddling again, a cruel, monstrous, icy-cold sound echoed through the air. That sound was none other than the Glitch's alien voice.

_"Mwahahahahahahahaha!"_

The little Enderdragon yelped in fear and froze, looking around frantically for the source of the noise. Suddenly, the entire End was swept over with a pitch-dark wave, which drowned her in dark so that even the floor couldn't be seen.

_"Oh, how adorable! A baby Enderdragon!"_

She whimpered and crawled quickly around, searching for somewhere to hide. But where could you hide when everything was pitch black? Suddenly, she felt something brush past her from behind, and she jumped, scrambling away in fright.

_"Awwwwww, you really are a cute little queen, aren't you?"_ whispered the Glitch icily.

Something slimy grabbed her tail and she let out a squeal, running as fast as her pudgy little feet could carry her away from the unknown creature that surrounded her, clouding her mind with dark thoughts. As she was running, she bumped into something, and before she could even let out another yelp, something very cold wrapped around her neck, making her gag. More unseen tendrils wrapped around her legs, pulling her to the ground, and then her little arms, and already the helpless little dragon was pinned to the ground by the monster.

Two glowing red eyes and a slit for a mouth appeared above her, and she swallowed a screech. Tears were running down her scaly cheeks—the moment of her death was very close, and she knew it. The Glitch's red eyes curled up gleefully as an evil grin spread beneath it. It extended a black tendril, which formed a jagged finger, and scratched lightly under her chin, which was wet with tears.

_"Would you like a little cookie, or perhaps a tickle under the chin? AAHAAHAAHAAAA!"_

The little dragon snapped at the pointed finger, which pulled back and waggled in front of her.

_"Naughty, naughty!"_ muttered the Glitch, its grin broadening.

Her breathing had become short and panicked, her chest tight and her stomach knotted painfully. The black finger in front of her placed its sharp end on her chest as the Glitch continued, sounding like it was talking to a puppy, only with such a malice that it made the temperature drop by thirty degrees. In fact, the air around them was easily below zero, and the baby Queen Enderdragon's breath froze in midair.

_"Unfortunately, naughty ones must be punished..."_

The little dragon gasped in pain as the pointed finger pushed into her chest, sinking into the skin beneath her scales. Purple blood oozed from around the finger, coming from beneath her chest. She shrieked in pain, hoping to attract someone's attention even though she was utterly alone, and a black tendril of plasma constricted over her mouth to quiet her squeals.

_"I am disappointed to say to you that your fellow rulers will die the same way you will..."_

The finger sank deeper into her chest, puncturing her heart, and the blood flow increased dangerously, splattering her chest as she struggled against her bonds. Soon, blood flowed up into her throat but couldn't escape due to the black tendril over her mouth. For at least ten seconds, the Glitch let helpless baby Enderdragon suffer and soak in her own blood. Finally, the Glitch leaned forward with its menacing eyes an inch away from little Queen Enderdragons, and he whispered,

_"Say goodbye to your soul, Queen Enderdragon."_

The Glitch withdrew its black finger and leaned forward with its glowing red mouth, opening it to reveal the powerful black hole inside. In an instant, the very soul of the Queen, colored a gloomy black shade, rose up out of her chest and became swallowed by the darkness that protruded from the Glitch's mouth. That little dragon, scared, helpless, in pain, and spattered with her own blood, drifted off into the cold that was not just death, but the void that would erase her from existence. It was then that she knew no more...

* * *

At that moment, all the Endermen of Minecraftia cried out to the skies in grief. Their cries echoed through the entire dimension, and all the other mobs in Minecraftia gave their cries along with them, all sharing the same sorrow. The Minecraftians themselves knew not what was going on, but after taking one glance into the night sky they saw that the stars had disappeared from its darkness. They too knew that something terrible had just happened.

Also, as the cries continued on through the night, a wave of chilling wind swept over the land, and even in the Nether the temperature dropped by thirty degrees. This was a sign of the Glitch gaining power, and once that realization was spread throughout Minecraftia, everyone knew that one of their great rulers had not survived an attack from the Glitch. This in mind, the sorrow spread to the people living all around the Minecraft Dimension, and they too joined in with the cries of Minecraft's mobs.

* * *

It was the cries of all living creatures in Minecraftia that awoke Mark, who, when he sat up on the ground, felt unusually cold. He knew he had been having a terrible nightmare, only of which he could remember seeing the Glitch again. He took a quick glance around him, making sure that everyone was still alive. To his relief, they all lay sleeping on the ground around him.

Then he looked up into the sky, and immediately his whole body became even colder. The stars had vanished from the sky. He felt a kind of déjà vu for a moment there, but couldn't put his finger on when this had happened before.

Mark gave up trying to think and stood up off of the ground. He knew he had to tell someone about the sky, and Rexum seemed like the best person to tell. Rexum was sitting atop the Eyestone, which pulsed with chilly air as usual. He reached out a finger to tap Rexum on the shoulder, but the old wizard beat him there and grabbed his hand, making him jump.

"What is it?" he muttered quietly, almost as though some was eavesdropping.

Mark pointed up into the sky and said,

"I don't know why, but the stars aren't in the sky anymore..."

Rexum whipped his head upward, flinging his great shaggy mane of silver hair from his face to show the urgency in his expression. One look at the spotless black sky and Rexum's eyes widened twice their normal size. He leapt off the Eyestone, broke it apart and then picked it up in its item form. He grabbed Mark's wrist and muttered angrily,

"I knew it! This is worse than I could have ever imagined!"

Mark tugged at the old man's firm grip.

"What's worse than you... Ow! Hey! Slow down!"

Rexum was already rushing around to people, waking them up quickly with Mark dragging behind. Soon enough, everybody was groggily sitting up and rubbing their eyes. Mark gave a massive shiver when Raven awoke, because when she looked tired—like, more tired than usual—she looked nearly lifeless, almost like a creepy voodoo doll.

"What...?" she nearly shouted, but Rexum cut her off by clamping a hand over her mouth.

"We must leave now!"

Raven tried to say something, but it was muffled still by Rexum's hand. Finally, Rexum let go of her for a moment and whipped out the golden oak staff from an inside pocket of his robes. He twirled it in the air, creating a huge swarm of golden clouds. His wrinkles seemed to increase as he went, which either meant he was getting tired or he was just hurried. Or both. As people sleepily started protesting about being woken up, Rexum hurried everyone onto their own cloud.

"Everyone, we must leave NOW!"

Suddenly, something fell from the sky and hit Mark on the head.

"Owwww!" he shouted, rubbing his head.

He looked down to see what had hit him and spotted something round lying in the grass at his feet. Suddenly, it started emitting clouds of thick black smog and dark sparks. Mark's eyes widened in alert.

"Oh shi—"

Rexum grabbed his hand just in time to wrench him away as the black bomb exploded, sending acidic black goop everywhere. When Mark opened his eyes there was a golden shield around him, which was slowly beginning to melt away because of the black sludge. Rexum lead him to one of the golden clouds and sat him down on it quickly, then ran ahead to his own.

"Rexum, what's going on?!" shouted Mark.

Rexum jumped up onto his golden cloud, looked around to see that everyone else was safe—even the two horses, who were instead floating in a golden hovering pen, plus the entire pig family and Bonbon—and then thrust forward with his glittering staff in both hands. All nine clouds and the one magic floating pen rocketed forward, all of them trailing behind Rexum. Suddenly, screeching sounds came from above, and when Mark looked above him he saw hundreds of the acid bombs raining down upon them. It was just like that night in Invacuo City when the entire city was bombed with black explosives. Almost everyone was either screaming and/or clinging to their cloud for dear life, for Rexum refused to slow down.

Meanwhile, Mark's mind was racing, although he could hardly hear himself think over the sudden explosions coming from close behind them.

_"How did the Glitch find us?! It must be the Glitch, but how?! Rexum said that we were completely concealed by his magic! And what about the stars?"_

Mark could hear Kelsey screaming from way behind him, but he couldn't look back; he was clinging too hard to his own cloud. Then, after about two minutes or so, the explosions began to drift away. Another few minutes past, and then the explosions were just dulls vibrations from far away. Rexum didn't slow down, though, and he continued to fly them through the mountains that reared their massive, ugly heads.

Then, ten minutes of sickeningly fast travel later, Rexum slowed down the clouds and landed them on the slope of a snow-covered mountain. Mark shivered as he stepped off of his golden cloud, which disappeared instantly. It was snowing at the moment, and Mark could feel every individual snowflake pelt his skin, freezing him in place. Everyone around him was the same way; curled up into balls or huddling together.

And then there was the matter of Rexum. He had collapsed in a frozen pile on the ground. Mark shuffled over to him and knelt down to see if he was ok. His skin had turned extremely pale and clammy, and it looked as though he had aged twenty years and fallen badly ill in a short amount of time. Mark raised a shaking hand and called out to the others.

"G-guys! R-R-Rexum doesn't l-look very g-g-good!"

People swarmed around him to get a look at Rexum. Mark put a hand on Rexum's chest to check for his heartbeat, which was beating very irregularly. Then he rolled Rexum onto his stomach so he could put a hand on his back to check for breathing, but when he was turned over Mark's stomach began to churn. A large hole had been burned through Rexum's robes, and in his skin was a festering wound that was spitting up the black goop that had come from the bombs. Rexum must have somehow gotten grazed by that bomb when he had pulled Mark out of the way.

Mark nearly got touched by the spurting black substance, and he backed up.

"Everyone back up! Do NOT touch the black goop, or it'll do the same thing to you!"

Everyone formed a circle around Rexum, making sure to keep a good distance away from the spurting. Mark quickly located Vanessa and locked eyes with her.

"Vanessa! You're the only one who can get rid of that goop! Use your magic or something!"

Vanessa would do anything to help out Rexum, so she agreed and set to work. She transformed Cantatis into a magic sponge, which she fitted inside the wound to soak up all of the goop. Being made of Light magic, the sponge stayed where it was and did not burn up at all. Although, it did seem to tire Vanessa out the longer it went on.

They stayed huddled like that around Rexum for another half hour, when finally the wound had oozed out the last bit of black sludge. Vanessa turned the blackened sponge that was Cantatis into a massive catapult, which launched the five and a half gallons of mire far behind them. Now Rexum looked as pale as ever, and his wound was still mushy and purple. So while Vanessa was magically bandaging up his back, Mark sent everyone out to find wood for a fire.

He sat down and watched Vanessa go to work. Neither of them spoke for a while, but then after a few more minutes Mark was surprised to hear Vanessa speak first.

"Mark?" she murmured.

Mark looked up and said,

"Yes?"

Vanessa walked over and sat down next to him, curling up to him to try and get warm.

"I c-can only m-m-make you c-cold Vanessa. I'm as c-cold as you..." he muttered.

Vanessa just curled tighter and said,

"This is n-not how I expected t-t-to spend m-m-my summer. I expected to s-spend it under warm c-covers reading a book."

Mark hugged her close and muttered,

"Yeah, well I'm sorry I brought you into this mess."

"Well, I c-can't really say it's n-not your fault, but I will say that this isn't ALL y-your fault."

"H-how so?"

"W-well... It's not your f-f-fault that that thing called th-the Glitch exists. It's n-not your fault that y-you of all people were chosen t-t-to b-b-b-be a hero. And it's n-not your fault th-that we're stuck in a t-tundra, either. Oh, I'm so c-cold..."

She hugged Mark to stop herself from shivering, or at least try to. Even though Mark knew that most of the things that were happening to him and everyone else weren't his fault it still felt like he was to blame for it all.

The next moment, they heard a shout from behind them, and they both turned around on their butts to see Adrian and Gabe trudging up the snowy hill with many blocks of dark pine. Adrian was shouting out of excitement.

"W-we got th-th-the w-wood!" he declared.

Once they had reached the flat part of the slope where Mark, Vanessa and Rexum sat/lay, they set down a huge unlit bonfire. Soon after them came Lucas and Kelsey, who looked flustered and out of breath when they reached their spot with wood in their hands. After they piled wood onto the bonfire they sat down and huddled next to everyone else for warmth. Finally, Raven came crawling up the hill, her pale cheeks bitten by the harsh wind, snot running from her nostrils. She kept sniffling over and over as she came over the edge, and didn't even bother putting wood on the fire and just huddled with everyone else as quickly as possible in the cold air, squeezing in next to Mark.

Adrian's shaking hand zipped open his Blockpack from behind and took out a flint and steel, which he used to light the mountain of wood in front of them. Immediately, Mark felt warmth spread over him from the fire, and he felt relaxed. Plus, with both Kelsey and Raven on either side curling up to him, he felt even warmer. Vanessa stood up and had to resort to rolling Rexum closer to the fire, for he would not move. His eyes had now closed and his breathing had slowed, and he looked slightly at ease but still VERY exhausted.

Everyone sat in silence around the fire for a while. No one even looked at each other. Ten minutes of this later, Lucas was the first to speak.

"What now?"

* * *

**Wow... I was getting some shivers during that scene with the Glitch and Queen Enderdragon as a baby. The Glitch said something previously about three Souls, does that have to do with it sucking up Queen Enderdragon's soul? Could that one be the Soul of Darkness?**

**Well, you can think whatever you want, but now we must get on with QAA!**

**To the Glitch: I bet you smell worse than a gundarks corpse buried on Korriban. And Revan, Canderous, Darth Vader, and Mara Jade could beat you in a fight no sweat.**

The Glitch: MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! This is a joke, I say! Those weaklings would not stand a chance! MWAHA, I SAY! MWAHA!

**To the Mutated Bed From Chapter 4: GYFVJUREWWGBBKUFDRGVUYDCGYFNKIVR!**

Mutated Bed From Chapter 4: FAJGHARHLIAWHGOHGIAOIERBIWOIFAOUIJVAZ!

**To the Glitch: Ou ink is an top me? *turns Super Saiyan 4 and break ice* Looks like I'll have to bring you down myself!Kaaaaaa-meeeeeeeeeee! Haaaaaaaaaa-meeeeeee! Haaaaaaaaaaaaa!**

The Glitch: *shifts its body by splitting itself in two to dodge the blast* Well, NOW I see just how powerful you can be! WELL DONE, FOOL! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

**To Notch: Why don't you give Mark the toomanyitems mod? It will help him a lot!**

Notch: I don't have time! You don't understand the kind of situation I'm in at the moment! :/

**Well then! How will the rest of the Enderman race survive now that their queen is dead forever? Will they be accepted into humankind? Will the Glitch rise to an even higher power now that it has absorbed the energy from Queen Enderdragon's soul? And what will happen to Mark and his friends now that they are stranded in a frozen tundra with barely any supplies? ****But for now, this is Pastrinator64, and I'll see you later with chapter numbah eighteen!**

***throws sugar bomb, disappears in a cloud of fine white sugar***

**Byyyyyeeeeee...**

**~Pastrinator64 [~]**


	18. Chapter 18: Bloody Mountains

**Hello, this is Pastrinator64 with another chapter from VOiD. Ok, the reason I'm posting this late is only because I just found out that I will not have any Internet access because both my parents work for the week and we still have summer. That means I won't be able to post for a week starting tomorrow morning, so THAT is why I post the chapter now. It might be possible for me to post chapters later in the afternoon—I mean, my afternoon, at least. I have no idea when all you guys have afternoon *derp :P time zones*.**

**Anyway, I very much appreciate your patience. But now, let's get on with some replies to reviews!**

Replies To Reviews...

**Kyle McShade: **Have you caught on to the Glitch's plan yet?

**CSICreeper: **It'd be hard for me to watch you anyway; my parents are super-protective over what I see on the computer, so in other words... I've got YouTube blocked from me, unfortunately. But, I CAN look at it from a friend's house.

**Somebody10101: **You've got a point. Am I really doing that good of a job at the Glitch's personality? :3 I'm not promoting that it's a rapist, I'm just saying I'm glad you think it's a creep.

**Volcanic the hedgehog: **Spooky chap? ^-^ Thanks, that's EXACTLY what I was going for.

**Nwinds: **No, they all still had their Blockpacks with them during the party, so those were salvaged. Also, I'm glad you approve of these chapters, because I remember what you said about the party chapter being too much crammed into one, and I took it seriously. I guess I did a good enough job, then. Thanks to you! :D

**Enderdude:** Ha. Your aunt, eh? Dude, if you're part-Enderman then that means she's your half-mother. Is that what you call em?

**YoshiEmblem: **Aha, and TUBA won't be any better! That's what I PLAY!

**Well then, how about we get on with the chapter! ;D**

**Hello, this is Pastrinator64 with another chapter from VOiD. Last time on VOiD we watched as Queen Enderdragon decided to return into her egg form in order to open a portal for all her Endermen to escape safely. After hatching from her egg as a baby Enderdragon, all alone in the End, the Glitch appeared from out of nowhere. In the end, the little Enderdragon suffered something worse than death; getting her very soul sucked from her body and consumed by the Glitch, ripping her from existence. Afterwards we switched to the view of Mark. There we watched as the entire group was rained upon by a hailstorm of black death-bombs. Rexum was injured by one of them, and so they had to take refuge in a cluster of snow-covered mountains. Now we watch as they experience the next couple days in those mountains, their luck turning for the worst.**

**Now, let the story commence!**

* * *

_Chapter 18: Bloody Mountains_

Then the morning came. Mark rose up from the newly-thawed ground shivering. The air was chilly still, but at least the snow was gone. He looked around at everyone else to see that they were all still sleeping. The bonfire in front of them was still burning somehow—must've been from Vanessa, who easily could've used her magic to stretch it on longer. Mark stood up with a slight quiver in his knees, cracked his neck and back, and then decided to take a climb up to the top of the mountain they were on.

He jumped up each block until he reached the tip of the mountain, which was over sixty blocks higher than where they slept. He shielded the bright sunlight from his eyes with one hand and peered over the mountains that were ahead. Mark actually had really good eyesight, but even he saw no end to the mountains. They'd have a lot of climbing to do, that was for sure.

Finally, after standing there for another five minutes, he headed back down the slope and then jumped over a three-block ledge and landed firmly onto their space of dirt. The noise made Lucas wake up near him. He stared up suddenly at Mark for a moment and stood up off of the ground. There was an awkward exchange of glances before somebody actually said something.

"So..." said Lucas, staring at his feet instead.

Mark shrugged.

"So, yeah..."

Another moment of silence followed, but then Lucas finally spoke again, and this time his voice sounded sincere.

"Mark, why don't you hang out with me anymore?"

Mark was a bit startled by the question. Suddenly, he felt a pang of guilt flow through him.

"Well, um..."

Lucas was right; he'd been hanging out with Adrian and Kelsey nearly the whole time. As regrets entered his mind, he gave a little jump as Mickey spoke for the first in a while—it kind of startled him, since he had totally forgotten about Mickey being in his Blockpack.

_"Master! Do not let him make you guilty! He is liar and too good of liar to be trusted! Stay away, he dangerous!"_

Mark looked into Lucas's hurt eyes and spoke back to Mickey in his head.

_"No, Lucas is right! I haven't been much of a friend lately, and I should have been with him more often."_

Mickey whispered right back with a warning in his voice.

_"No! He is lying snake! He is untrustworthy! I sense it!"_

_"Mickey, just stop it, Lucas isn't lying about the fact that I haven't been a friend!"_

_"No, that not what I refer to, Master! I talk about—"_

_"Mickey, I said stop! I can decide for myself what I believe."_

Mickey stopped talking after that. Lucas seemed to be waiting for a reply still, so Mark just sighed and looked again into his eyes.

"Lucas, I'm really sorry that I haven't been a friend to you lately. Any way I can, you know, make up for it?" asked Mark quietly.

Lucas put on a thinking face for a moment, tapping his chin with his finger.

"Hmm... Well, there is one thing I've wanted you to do."

He paused for a moment, as though purposefully stretching it on, and Mark immediately knew he wouldn't be let off the hook easily. Then Lucas grinned and turned his head to look sideways at Mark.

"I want you to kiss Raven."

Mark's eyes widened in horror and he felt his jaw drop down.

"What?! You have GOT to be kidding me!" he whispered angrily.

Lucas folded his arms and turned around slowly, a grin across his face.

"If you do just that I'll forgive you." Mark still just stared at him in utter disgust. "And you have to do it within three days for it to be valid."

Mark made a little choking noise in his throat and wiped sweat off his forehead. Lucas knew he had him in a difficult spot, so it was like he was playing a dirty game of truth or dare where he was the darer. Mark told himself that he wouldn't go through with it... But what if he didn't? Then he'd have to live with guilt for who knows how long... After bickering with himself for a few intense moments, Mark finally decided that he would go through with it, but somehow make it so unobvious that nobody, hopefully not even Raven, would notice. He knew otherwise he'd have a hard time dealing with his guilt.

So Mark made a very obvious sigh and turned to face Lucas. He extended his hand to Lucas, and Lucas shook it.

"Fine, deal."

Lucas's grin widened and he turned around.

"Good. Remember, you've got three days. Also, make sure that I actually see it, ok?"

As Lucas walked away, Mark started to panic. He busied himself with trying to think of a way to kiss Raven without it being obvious. Maybe he could make it look like an accident! Yeah! No, then maybe everybody else would think he made it an "accident" on purpose. Or he could... No... Then what about... No... Mark couldn't think of anything to do that would make it secretive. There were just too many people around...

And then an idea struck him. What if he did it when everyone was sleeping? As long as he didn't wake her up, he'd be under the cover of dark, and nobody would notice! He'd just keep Lucas awake long enough so that he would be the only other person to see it! Then he started wondering which night he'd do it. He could just wait for a day when everyone was extremely tired to ensure sleepiness.

In the midst of his thoughts, he heard somebody scream. Mark snapped out of his half-trance and looked around. Kelsey was on her feet, staring at the group of groggy people waking up on the ground.

"Adrian's gone!" she screamed.

Mark rushed over with a sinking feeling in his stomach. His head whirled around to look for their favorite cowboy, but he was nowhere to be seen. Mark walked to the edge of their flat little space and looked down towards the ground far below. To his surprise, he saw something colored a solid blue sitting in between a couple of trees at the base of their mountain.

"Guys! I think I found him!"

The others had finally gotten up, and they all walked up to where Mark was standing and looked down at the little blue speck.

"Hey, I see him!"

"Why would he be down there?"

Mark searched inside his Blockpack for anything that would get him down the snowy mountain. Finally, he found a bunch of wooden planks. He made a quick crafting table and then crafted a boat, which he placed on the edge of the mountain. Before anybody could stop him, he hopped into it and zoomed down the mountain, riding in the boat like a toboggan. It was very bumpy riding down that slope, but eventually he hit the foot of the mountain and used an upcoming tree to stop his boat. After his boat broke apart, Mark stood up and searched for Adrian, absentmindedly rubbing his sore legs.

Adrian was sitting in between two trees to his left, and to Mark's surprise he was back in his crumpled-ball form. Adrian looked like he was knocked out cold by the impact of hitting those trees. Mark quickly unfolded his crumpled form and then hastily folded his body back together like papercraft, suffering only from a few paper cuts. As soon as he folded down the last side, Adrian popped back into life and opened his eyes.

"Wha...? The hell jus' happened?" he muttered, his voice full of pain.

Mark could see large splinters of wood pierced through his checkered blue shirt into his back and arms, which must've been causing him a LOT of pain. Blood was streaming down his back as well, but at least it wasn't too serious. He took Adrian by the hand and helped his deeply shaken friend to his feet. Adrian tried to bend back, but the twenty or so giant splinters dug deeper into his back, and he winced. Mark put an arm over his shoulder and said,

"C'mon, let's get you back up that mountain; maybe Vanessa can do some of her hocus pocus, or whatever you call it."

They walked up the mountain at a slow pace with Adrian leaning on Mark's shoulder, the blood on Adrian's back dripping to dot the snow under their feet with crimson. Mark decided that he wanted to know what actually happened to Adrian.

"Dude, who'd you shake hands with? You would've had to do it if you were in your ball form."

Adrian looked down at Mark and his face gained a look of puzzlement.

"Well, I'mah not really sure, Mark. I only remember last night when somebody woke me up. It was dark, so under the cover o' dark they must'a pushed me as a ball down this mountain! I don' remember a face, though."

Mark frowned and set his mind in motion. Who would want to kill Adrian? Nobody in their group, that was for sure. Mickey must've been reading his mind, because the little silverfish spoke the moment he was finished thinking.

"The Lucas boy did it, Master! He wants Adrian to be dead! He wants to kill all us one by one!"

Mark was very angry with Mickey at the moment. He'd been accusing Lucas for things ever since they first met. In response to Mickey's antics, Mark reached behind him and bashed the backpack, making Mickey give a short squeak of pain. Afterwards he thought,

"Mickey, I said stop accusing Lucas of everything suspicious that happens! He's my friend!"

"A friend who will only become friends with you again if you do the thing you dread?"

Mark stopped for a moment, not while he was moving up the slope with Adrian, but in his brain. He had figured that Lucas was just having some fun, but... Did he just want to make Mark look like a total idiot?

"Lucas is suspicious. I say you keep an eye on him for suspicious behavior." whispered Mickey.

Then he went quiet. The rest of the walk up the snowy mountain was masked in silence. Once they reached the flatter part, everybody came crowding around them. Most of them were trying to see if Adrian had suffered from any injuries, which he had, so Mark just said that he got a bunch of splinters in the back, and that that was all. This was good news, considering a tumble like that fifty blocks down a mountain into a tree during a snowstorm would normally kill a person or at least give them permanent damage. He just got lucky.

Mark shushed everyone, grabbing their attention. They all seemed to know what was coming.

"Alright, I need to know if any of you have information on what happened to Adrian last night. If you do, step forward."

Nobody moved, they just all exchanged nervous glances. Mark couldn't really tell whodunit just by looking at faces, so he couldn't figure out if it were one of their group of someone else. He quickly locked eyes with Vanessa and said,

"Vanessa, can you, like, turn Cantatis into a scanner or something to look for any other people hidden in these mountains? If there are other people here then they must be confronted before somebody else gets attacked."

Vanessa nodded and lifted up Cantatis, and it shifted around for a few moments before appearing again as a small device that looked something like a scanner. She lifted it up into the air and a red wave flashed all around them, basking the whole area in red light for a few seconds. Moments later she lowered the red scanner and looked at the screen. She skimmed over it a few times, but obviously saw nothing of interest, and turned back to Mark.

"No, there's nobody else here but us."

"It could be a ghost!"

...

Everybody turned in silence to look at Lucas. Raven actually facepalmed. He immediately stopped talking, knowing his idea was a complete fail. Then Gabe cut in with his suggestion.

"Perhaps Adrian just rolled down the hill on accident."

Mark shook his head and explained to everyone about the story of how Adrian got his hat stolen, how he was trapped in that cave with the Spherical Specter, and especially about the curse he received. When he was finished Gabe shook his head and said,

"Well then, I believe my suggestion is very much invalid. It's not exactly possible for Adrian to shake hands with himself during his time of sleep..."

Mark immediately realized that it would have to be someone in their group. At this thought, his stomach immediately curled unpleasantly, and he thought back to what Mickey had said. Was he wrong while Mickey was really right? Was Lucas to blame?

"No... No, it wasn't him, he isn't good at hiding stuff anyway. He'd definitely look guilty." he thought to himself, trying to convince himself.

The rest of the day wasn't nearly as exciting. Rexum, still being out-of-action, could only sit up to eat and drink from what little food they actually had. Somewhere around noon Mark went out with everyone else to search for food, but they could only find a couple of sheep in the frozen mountains. They killed them anyway and just carried their bodies one by one up to their camp for cooking. That night they ate some lamb, which was tough and very gristly, barely enough to fill their stomachs for one night.

Part of the reason they were all starving was because Rexum was getting most of the food. He was still recovering from the massive—and still festering—wound in his back, and he needed a LOT of nutrients, even though they had barely anything to give him. It was that night that Adrian remembered about his Block powers, and he grew so much grass that within a minute they had plenty of seeds for wheat. With wheat they could find animals, and with animals they could breed, which meant more meat than they could carry. It sounded like a great idea, and with the prospect of food seeming closer than ever, that night's sleep seemed to pass much quicker, even with the chilly weather around them.

* * *

But then the next morning came, and whatever attacked Adrian the previous night struck again, only this time it attacked Gabe. When Mark awoke that morning he decided to make sure that everyone was there, and he found that Gabe was nowhere to be seen.

"Guys! Now Gabe's missing!" he shouted at the sleeping lot.

This was the second disappearance in two days, so the rest of their group got up quicker than the first time. Mark ran over to the edge where the slope began to steepen and looked down again at the trees. He didn't see anyone down by the trees, but Gabe could easily be somewhere inside the mini forest. Mark re-crafted his boat and rode it down the slope. He steered a bit better this time and managed to avoid hitting the trees. Once he was at the bottom he heard whooshing noises come from behind and assumed that everybody else was catching on to his idea. He heard several slams of wood on wood and painful groans a few seconds later, and felt his eyes roll.

Surrounded by people with sore limbs and headaches, Mark walked through the clustered dark trees, the sound of his and everyone else's footsteps muffled by the snow. A few seconds later, something burst suddenly from behind another tree. It was Gabe. But as soon as he emerged, his eyes glazed over and he tipped over, falling unconscious into the snow, landing heavily on his side.

He looked like he had gotten in a fight with a werewolf. His normally well-kept blackish-green hair was matted to his forehead with several chunks of it ripped out. His face was also scratched up and bloody, and both his "THIS IS SPARTA" shirt and jean shorts were torn to shreds. Kelsey screamed and rushed over to him to see if he was even still alive. She put her head to Gabe's blood-splattered chest and her eyes widened with relief.

"He's alive! Let's get him back up the mountain!" she whispered urgently.

It took both Mark and Adrian to lift the unconscious Gabe to his feet and drag him up the slope. As they went, the blood leaking from Gabe's many scratches and cuts stained the snow red, exactly like Adrian had; only it seemed twice as bad. At the flattened edge of the mountain they lay Gabe down near the bonfire next to Rexum to keep him warm. His zombified horse Felix trotted over slowly and nudged his master with a wet muzzle. He licked Gabe's blood-covered face to wake him up, but it only made him roll his head to the other side. Felix whimpered for a moment, but then just lay down beside Gabe, getting as close as possible without pushing Gabe into the bonfire.

The rest of the day went by slowly. Everyone was dreading the upcoming night, because they knew that someone—or something—was going to attack again. While Mark was sitting near the bonfire thinking about food, Kelsey came over and sat down next to him.

"Mark?" she said quietly.

Mark turned and smiled at her.

"Yeah?"

"I'm scared for tonight." she whispered.

Mark pulled her closer to keep her warm and comfortable.

"Kelsey, we'll be having nightshifts this time, so one person'll always be awake." he explained.

Kelsey sighed and scooted as close as possible to Mark, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"I just hate thinking about it. It makes me feel like I'll die in my sleep as soon as I drift off or something..." she muttered.

Mark kissed her on the cheek, and she blushed but didn't push him away, just hugged him even harder.

"Nothing is going to happen to you. If anybody even TRIES to hurt you, I'll—"

Mark uttered something that he knew he'd never say aloud, and Kelsey elbowed him afterwards.

"Mark, language!" she whispered loudly.

Mark shook his head and muttered,

"Sorry, sorry... I just don't want anything to happen to anybody right now. Adrian and Gabe are pretty injured, plus Rexum can barely do anything, and he's supposed to be protecting us. I can't ask Vanessa to make a shield for us, that would mean she'd have to stay up all night long, which she wouldn't do even if you payed her. Unless she can get Rexum's Eyestone to work I think we've got nothing." suddenly, Mark stood up and looked down at Kelsey. "I'll be right back, I've got to ask Vanessa if she can control the Eyestone for us, maybe then we'll be protected."

Mark reluctantly walked away from the warmth of the fire and found Vanessa helping Adrian nearby, who winced every time she pulled out one of the huge splinters in his back. She didn't look up at him for the five seconds he stood there, so he cleared his throat to get her attention.

"Mmm, what?" she muttered, going back to pulling out splinters.

"Can you see if you can activate the Eyestone for us with your magic? Then we'd be protected overnight." Mark said quickly, eager to get back to Kelsey by the fire.

Vanessa paused and looked up at him with a serious look.

"Sure, I'll try. Can it wait, though? I'm trying to get all this wood out of his back..." she said, pointing down at Adrian.

Adrian gritted his teeth and muttered,

"Yeah, and it hurts like—"

"Hey, I'm going as fast as I can!" cut in Vanessa.

Mark walked away from the bickering and sat back down next to Kelsey, who put her arms around him again as they sat by the fire.

"She says she'll give it a go." said Mark as he ran his fingers through Kelsey's golden hair.

"Good, that makes me feel a lot better."

They sat in a warm, silent atmosphere for the next few hours, the two of them hugged together by the fire, just enjoying each other's company. Once the sun started going down and everyone was by the fire, Mark looked up and realized how late it was getting. Kelsey let him stand up to go find Vanessa, who was sitting with Adrian by the fire, covering his back with Cantatis, which was in the form of a large bandage.

"Ok, now you can only wear that while I'm still awake, but after that it turns back into a book." she said.

Adrian nodded and said,

"As long as yer magic fixes up ma back I'll be happy."

Vanessa looked up at Mark and immediately the gears in her head clicked.

"Oh, right! The Eyestone..."

She stood up and walked towards Rexum, who was sleeping with his bony hands folded on his chest on the other side of the bonfire. The Eyestone was still placed next to him, so Vanessa just bent down over it to get a good look. Then she stopped and looked back at Adrian.

"I need to borrow Cantatis back for a moment." she said.

Adrian took off the bandage with a grimace on his face and gave it up to Vanessa, who transformed it back into a book. Then she placed the book over the Eyestone and screwed her face up in concentration. Cantatis's glow intensified, surrounding the Eyestone with its aura. A few moment later, a sputtering beam of red light rose up from out of the top hole in the Eyestone and began to spread slowly, but then a few seconds later it stopped, shuddered violently, and then just dissipated away into the air, and the Eyestone returned to its icy blue state. Vanessa picked up Cantatis and turned to face their group, who'd been watching intensely the whole time—with the exception of Gabe, who was still out cold. She shrugged and said,

"I've got nothing."

They all groaned and lowered their heads in disappointment. Sadly, it wasn't just disappointing, but it was anticlimactic too. It was then that Mark started giving people their shifts. He would go for the first two hours, then Adrian, then—it took an extra five minutes of complaints from her—Raven, and then Vanessa, and finally, Lucas.

Just a half hour later, all the mountains were covered in a sheet of cold and dark. While everyone else attempted sleep by the bonfire, Mark sat up and kept a watchful eye. It was pretty easy for him to stay away considering how restless he had been all day. His two hours went by slowly, but when they were over he crawled on his hands and knees over to Adrian and shook him awake. Once Adrian was ready to begin his shift, Mark fell flat on the finally-thawed ground to go to sleep. It took a long time, but after what was probably an hour he felt his eyelids begin to droop. Soon after the drowsiness began, he fell into a troubled sleep full of nightmares. He couldn't even find peace in his sleep anymore...

* * *

**Oh man! Now that Rexum is out of action I guess none of them are safe! Who'll be attacked next?! (I knoooooooooowwwwwwww... ;D)**

**Anyhow, let's get on with some more QAA!**

**To the Glitch:You think I'm done? *Kamehameha turns around suddenly* Bending Kamehameha! I thought you would do that!**

The Glitch: _Clearly you misunderstand! *opens black hole mouth and sucks up the blast* I... ABSORB... EVERYTHING! THERE IS NOTHING I CANNOT ABSORB! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!_

**To Notch:You are the all powerful being in Minecraft, right? So why don't you use a /give command and spawn in 30 sets of leather/iron/gold/diamond armor? You would at least be covered!**

Notch: You don't think hard enough, my friend! Don't you think I've tried?! The Glitch has ripped me of my ability to spawn armor and any other type of clothing! It wouldn't have let me go with all my abilities, what would the fun be in that? It wants this embarrassment to last as long as possible... *grumbles*

**To the Glitch: Why did you kill my aunt?! You dirty virus! And last time I said mcafee like the antivirus program not the McDonald's thing.**

The Glitch: _Oh... Not McCafé... STILL! I AM INSULTED EITHER WAY! THE ANTIVIRUS MCAFEE PROGRAM IS NOT NEARLY ENOUGH TO DESTROY ME! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!_

**Dear Notch: Why can't you spawn in clothes? Is it more difficult than it seems?**

Notch: I already told you; I CANNOT spawn in clothes because the Glitch has ripped that ability from my code!

**Well then, how will Mark and the others survive now that they know someone—or something—was out to kill them? Was it the Glitch, possibly coming to steal the Balance Core? And will Rexum be able to recover soon enough for them to leave before their situation gets worse?! Find out next chapter in VOiD! ****But for now, this is Pastrinator64, and I'll see you later with chapter numbah nineteen!**

***throws sugar bomb, disappears in a cloud of fine white sugar***

**Byyyyyeeeeee...**

**~Pastrinator64 [~]**


	19. Chapter 19: Airborne Arachnids

**Hello, this is Pastrinator64 with another chapter from VOiD. I finally figured out my Internet situation: I can now only post past 3:30, so that's it. Anyway, I don't know about you guys, but I only have eleven more days of summer vacation and then... *shudder* School starts again. That means that I might not be writing as much due to homework and other things. Just getting that out there as a warning.**

**Anyway, for now let's just get on with things; replies to reviews!**

Replies To Reviews

**YoshiEmblem: **Don't worry, I figured out my Internet situation already.

**Kyle McShade: **Well I'd love to hear your, er, outline, so if you could private message me that would be great.

**Volcanic the hedgehog: **Hate to see so many people out of action, right?

**Nwinds: **Alright, I'll answer your questions in order cuz there are a lot of them. 1. Ok then, I wasn't offended in any way, really. I took it as constructive criticism. 2. I realized that too, so I just had a little blurb with Mark explaining to them all about the problem. 3. Well, I basically don't have Internet access until 3:30 (I don't know where that stands in your time zone, though, so it might be different for you).

**CSICreeper: **Dude, you're eleven! You're a baby, man. (No offense. :P)

**Enderdude: **Well... *looks down guiltily* Your real mother was Queen Enderdragon: She gives birth to all the Endermen, and she just... Assigns parents... I'm very sorry. ;-;

**Alright, let's get on with the story!**

**Hello, this is Pastrinator64 with another chapter from VOiD. Last time on VOiD we watched as the group woke up to find Adrian M.I.A., and later when Mark was searching the woods below he found Adrian crumpled into his ball form, stuck in between two trees with a TON of splinters in his back. After getting him safely up the hill they discussed about who how someone had gotten him down that hill in his ball form, but they could not find any solution. Then night came and went, and the following morning they found Gabe to be missing this time! When they went down into the woods again they found Gabe, who was beaten up and bloody. They carried his unconscious self up the mountain's snowy slope and dropped him down there, discussing even further about what happened. Still with no solution whatsoever, they were forced to take shifts in the night in order to stay safe. Now we watch as Mark and the gang are attacked by a horde of flying arachnids; the supposed suspects of Adrian and Gabe's near-deaths.**

**Now, let the story commence!**

* * *

_Chapter 19: Airborne Arachnids_

Mark had a dream that night, but it actually turned out to be another black and white vision. He was watching Raven, who was sitting up in the cold of the night, watching over their camp. Her eyes were drooping like she was struggling to stay awake. Then she really did doze off, falling right down next to the bonfire without another movement.

A few moments later, three large figures moved somewhere nearby in the darkness. They came into view by the light of the white bonfire, and Mark's stomach churned when he saw a trio of giant, bloody-eyed spiders crawling into their camp. One of the spiders crawled over to Vanessa, the other one over to Lucas, and the third to Bonbon. Immediately his companions awoke, and things turned in slow-motion as they fought the mutated spiders, punching and struggling to break free of the spiders' grips.

Just as other people were waking up, the spiders lifted their backsides and each of them shot their own line of web into the air. As though their lines had each hooked onto something invisible, they lifted themselves up into the air and made their getaway. All the others had awoken now and were shouting and trying to kill the spiders, but the airborne arachnids were already too far for them to reach. Vanessa, Lucas, and Bonbon's cries echoed through the night as they were being carried away to their deaths, and Mark just stood there, shouting in boiling anger. Then, the vision before his eyes became misty, and then all that was left was darkness.

* * *

Immediately afterwards the horrible vision, Mark awoke. Without thinking he jumped out of bed and whirled around.

"LOOK OUT VANESSA!"

To his horror, he could see the same spiders from the vision swooping down. Screaming filled the air as his younger sister was jumped by one of the spiders. He ran forward and raised his diamond sword, ready to stab the monsters that dare take his sister and his friend. But just then, one of the spiders leaped over the bonfire and landed on top of him, screeching and hissing and spitting in his face, the black blood from its eyes dripping onto his face. Mark grunted and stabbed it in the jaw, sending it straight through its head.

He heard shouting come from his fellow friends as he was shoving the dead spider off of him. He could see them stabbing at the airborne arachnids, and he hurled himself forward, joining in and slicing the air to demolish the spiders. But he couldn't reach, for the spiders had already gotten away. Only Bonbon remained since he killed the third spider, and she lay badly shaken and shivering on the ground in a ball of fright.

As Mark watched the spiders carry away his sister and best friend through the air he just shouted out in anger and listened to his head pound. He hurled his diamond sword in their direction and didn't care when it missed by a longshot. He swore at the spiders, too angry to calm down, infuriated especially because his sister had been taken from him. As Mark sank to his knees in grief, he noticed something on the ground next to him. He glanced down at it and a sickening cold feeling swept over him. It was Cantatis, which lay open in the snow. That meant...

Mark didn't waste any time and started screaming at the top of his lungs.

"EVERYONE UP! VANESSA AND LUCAS ARE GONE AND WE'RE GONNA KILL THOSE SPIDERS THAT TOOK THEM! QUICK! BEFORE WE LOSE THEM!"

People were staring at him like he was dangerous—which at the moment he was—and nobody actually moved. A few moments later, Mark shouted again.

"I'M NOT LEAVING THEM! LET'S GO! C'MON!" he screamed, waving his arms at them all.

"But what about Gabe, Rexum and Adrian? And the other animals? They can't all—" asked Kelsey concernedly.

"Ok, you can stay here with them in case of emergency, but I need SOMEONE to come with me!"

But to Mark's utter horror, the only person left there was Raven. As realization was dawning on her, she glanced slowly around to see if anyone else was able to come with instead. But in truth, she was the only one. Immediately, Kelsey stepped in and said,

"No, I'll come, I changed my mind!"

Mark caught her glancing quickly at Raven many times in a row. To her, the idea of Mark and Raven being alone ANYWHERE sounded like a nightmare to her, even if it did seem ridiculous that anything would happen between them. But then Raven stepped in and said,

"Actually, I've been waiting for a chance to kill something for a while, so I'd rather come."

Kelsey shot her a nasty look from the side, and Raven glared back. A few intense moments went by, but then Mark decided to break the tension.

"Er, Kelsey, maybe she does deserve a chance to stretch her legs. Right?"

He knew that he had said the wrong thing, because Kelsey just stared at him with an icy look, determined to keep him away from other girls. Honestly, Mark would easily take Kelsey over bringing Raven, but he only had a few hours left before midnight would come, and if he didn't somehow kiss Raven while Lucas was watching he'd be in big trouble.

Mark just sighed, considering his dilemma, and then decided.

"Kelsey, you know that Raven absolutely despises being with us. She hasn't gotten a chance to do anything appealing since she joined our numbers. If, er, killing is, um, something she enjoys..." Dang it that came out so bad. "Then she should get a chance to get out. Otherwise, er, otherwise we're practically torturing her by cooping her up."

Kelsey looked from him to Raven, going back and forth between them, but finally she just grunted and sat down in the snow.

"Fine. Raven," she muttered jabbing her thumb sideways as Raven as though she were an ugly animal. "Can go with you."

Frantic to get going and help, well, mostly his sister, but Lucas too, Mark clapped his hands together and said,

"Let's go! I'll ride Felix, you ride Elmer."

Once Mark and Raven had mounted their horses, they galloped down the snowy hill in the same direction that the spiders had escaped to. Once they entered the forest they were forced to go slower to avoid crashing. Through small glimpses in between trees, Mark stared at Raven, who looked extremely out of place being on Elmer—who was a gleaming white stallion—with her dark and creepy appearance.

They continued dodging trees for a while, and Mark stopped for only a moment to pick up his sword, which he had thrown far into the trees from earlier. They continued moving, and then they burst through the other end into a small stretch of desert soon after. There was snow covering even the sand, so as they trotted along on their horses the steps were muffled. Then, just as they stepped off the snow into sand, Mark noticed something black moving near the edge of the beach, but then it disappeared the next moment.

"There!" he whispered loudly to Raven, pointing in the direction of where the dark figure had been moments ago.

He kicked Felix's sides and off they went, hurtling towards the edge of the beach. In a matter of seconds they reached the water, and Mark pulled back on the reins to slow the undead horse to a stop. Moments later he heard Raven slow down on Elmer from behind.

"Where are they?" she muttered.

Mark looked around, left and right, and even looked down in the water. He lifted his head for a moment and stopped. Everything was deadly quiet, too. When he looked in all directions a second time, he noticed something odd: There weren't any other mobs around, not even the usual Creeper.

Suddenly, something sticky wrapped around his arm and he screamed as he was yanked into the air. In his moment of fear, he heard Raven scream out as well. The spiders were taking THEM! All of a sudden, the web around his arm broke off, and he was sent plummeting to the ground. Before Mark had the time to panic his head hit the ground with a dull thud, and he instantly blacked out.

* * *

Meanwhile, somewhere up above in the Overworld, Norman and Liz were running through a stretch of plains with their minds solely on finding the whereabouts of Mark and Vanessa. A few minutes of intense running later, both of them stopped to take a rest. While they were sitting there in the grass gasping for breath, Liz smiled and leaned over to kiss Norman on the cheek.

"Remember back when we used to have boundless energy in the old days when we were fighting the Glitch? Those were good times."

Norman smiled and nodded, still taking deep breaths.

"Yeah, I sure wish I was still like that now. I miss the old gang; Quinn and Bailey and Joe and Calista... Even Danny!"

As they were resting, Norman was looking around for some sign of a village when he looked farther into the dark of the night and noticed a glow coming from far away. It looked like a huge cluster of lights. Lights! He stood up and pointed at the glow.

"Honey, look!"

Liz turned her head, noticed the glow, and stood up as well.

"It must be a village!" she said quickly and excitedly.

Norman started walking towards the glow.

"And if there's a village there's people! People means information!"

They speed-walked in the direction of the glow. Bit by bit it came into focus, and soon they could see individual lights. But when they got even closer, Norman started to speed up—he noticed that this village was a lot different from the others he'd seen. This village wasn't even touching the ground! In fact, all of the houses seemed to branch off of a large mountain that stood behind it. With his curiosity increasing, Norman increased his walking speed to the point where he was already running. For the first time in a while, Liz was the one who struggled to catch up.

Norman stopped just twenty blocks from the many structures built into the mountain. He craned his neck to look up and see all the houses. He could see one very large building made of Nether quartz at the very top of the vertical town. Ladders and wooden pathways connected all the houses, and even at night he could see people bustling around the place, going into libraries and shops and blacksmith workshops and even bakeries.

While he was gazing up at the peculiar village, Liz came running up to him with short breath. She gasped for air as she also looked over the village from top to bottom.

"Genius... *huff* Architecture!" she said in between breaths.

Norman walked over to the ladder that hung one block from the ground and started to climb. Liz groaned a little behind him, but nevertheless followed him as he went up. As Norman was emerging onto the wooden walkway people immediately started staring. He had barely stepped onto the wood when an elderly man approached him while hobbling along on a cane, extending a crooked hand.

"Norman Cobweb! I can't believe I am meeting you in my lifetime!" he said with a wheeze.

Liz popped up onto the platform a moment later, and the old man said an excited hello to her as well. Then more people started gathering.

"Norman? Norman Cobweb?"

"That's Norman Cobweb!"

"He's here again? Really?"

"Let me see!"

"Look, Lizzy Cake's here with him too!"

"Look at their fingers. They've got the same wedding rings! They're married!"

A few confusing moments later, somebody could be heard trying to push their way through the crowd.

"Excuse me, coming through. Pardon me, sorry. Please, move aside..."

Someone came through the crowd. It was a man that neither Norman nor Lizzy had ever seen before. He was a well-built man on the taller side, and he had neatly combed black hair and chocolate-brown eyes. He was wearing a green suitcoat and a pitch-black fedora. Behind him Norman could see a Creeper standing there, and for one sudden moment Norman caught a glimpse of the nametag, but it flashed by too quick for him to read. The black-haired man stared wide-eyed at Norman for a moment, looking him up and down in a hasty manner.

"By Jove, it is you!"

Norman opened his mouth to say something, but then the man turned around and cupped his hands to his mouth and shouted towards the back of the crowd.

"Honey, you've got some very important visitors!"

The man stepped aside as another person burst through the crowd a few seconds later. This woman was wearing a lime-green dress with white lace, which matched her bright green eyes. Her blonde hair was tied into a long ponytail, which still touched her back. For a moment, Norman didn't recognize the woman, but it only took a few seconds for everything to click.

"B-Bailey?" he stammered.

Bailey's eyes brimmed up with tears as she flung herself into a Norman, crushing him with a hug.

"Norman, I'm so glad to see you!"

This was the second time that she'd crushed him with a hug—the first time was twenty years ago when they rejoined in that one forest. Bailey finally let go—and Norman continued onto bending over and rubbing his back and groaning with stress—and she hugged Liz instead, this time more gently. When the hug-fest was over Bailey jumped back and stood beside the black-haired man, who was supposedly her husband.

"Leland, I'd like you to meet Norman and Lizzy Cobweb." she said, gesturing at the two of them.

Leland walked forward and smiled pleasantly, shaking both Norman and Liz's hands.

"I am very pleased to meet you! Never in a million years did I think I'd be standing here shaking your hands."

Norman stepped forward and said to Bailey,

"So, what are you doing here?"

"Well, after you guys all left for Earth, all the rest of us guys were granted a lot of money from Notch for our services, so I used MY share to build up a new village that's safe from zombies, and so far it's been a success. Leland here is the mayor, so I'm the mayoress—yeah, I didn't know there was a such thing either. Anyway, we're pretty peaceful here considering nothing ever attacks us. Even the spiders leave us alone!" she declared happily.

It was almost as though she had jinxed them right then and there, but a few moments later somebody screamed,

"SPIDERS!"

Everyone started shouting and turning around to look at the plains beyond. Norman fought his way through the panicked crowd to the edge of the walkway in order to see what was going on. When he got there his stomach sank, because sure enough there was a horde of oversized spiders covered in black blood scuttling towards their village, their hissing and spitting piercing the night's quiet atmosphere.

Norman had been too close to the edge, though, because in the chaos of the crowd behind him somebody rammed into him from the side, and he lost balance, falling over the edge of the platform. He only had to fall for a short distance, but he still grunted when he slammed into solid ground. With his head pounding and limbs shaky, Norman stood up and shook himself off. Liz came sliding down the ladder moments later, and she rushed up to him to see if he was ok.

"Liz, I'm fine..." he muttered, still brushing dirt off of his scuffed hands and arms.

The massive outbursts of hissing and moving legs was what brought Norman back to his senses. He looked out at the spiders approaching and grimaced both in disgust and in pain—Liz had grabbed his arm fearfully, and her nails were digging into his skin. On instinct Norman whipped off his old Blockpack and searched around inside it. He barely had to look, because two seconds later he emerged holding a long weapon in his hand.

It was a long shovel with a spade made of pure diamond, which glimmered brightly with enchantments. This was Shatter, the weapon that Norman used those many years ago to survive and thrive during his time in Minecraft. He reached again into his Blockpack and took out another item. This one was a small cube that fit in the palm of his hand, and it was patterned with red and blue letter M's on each face, and had a red/blue magnet attached to the top face. This was the old Magnomatic, the magnetic weapon that he used to help defeat the Glitch twenty years ago. It could be attached or taken off of the spade of Shatter, and he preferred to leave it on, so he pressed it hard onto the tip of the diamond spade and it was instantly attached.

Now that Shatter and the Magnomatic had been combined once more, Norman turned and faced the spiders. It had been a long time since he last fought a swarm of mobs, but he knew he could go off of pure instinct if he needed to. He was about to go running to battle when Liz tightened her grip on his arm.

"Norman, you're not going out to fight them."

Suddenly, she grinned and lifted HER weapon: The enchanted diamond sickle named Shine, which was capable of slicing any enemy to ribbons in a matter of moments.

"Not without me by your side, you're not."

Norman felt a grin spread across his face as well.

"Just like old times, right?"

"Just like old times."

With that, the two of them ran towards the army of mutated spiders yelling battle cries of unmatchable proportions. Norman could feel old energy becoming new again as it surged from Shatter into his hands and arms. He lifted Shatter up into the air and slammed it down on the ground, and it sent a magnetic wave through the ground that rocketed the front ten rows of spiders into the air, disintegrating them. In his head he thought,

"These things must be glitched mobs. No wonder the magnetism rips through them. This should be a piece of cake!"

Norman continued on with swinging Shatter to create a torrent of magnetic waves that bombarded the spider army, disintegrating every single arachnid there. Suddenly, after about two minutes of nonstop spider assault, the creatures stopped, just froze right then and there. Norman also stopped to catch his breath, but also to see what they were doing.

Suddenly, all of the spider rose into the air on black threads and formed a great big hissing cloud of monsters. The blood that poured from all their eyes gushed heavily onto the ground below, burning up the ground on impact. Norman stood there in horror as he watched the glitched mobs, but as they were getting closer he angrily swung Shatter in their direction, sending even more electromagnetic pulses. But this time, whenever he destroyed a big group of the spiders, even more materialized in their place.

Then screams started to come pouring down on them and rumbling filled the air, and when Norman whirled around he saw the entire population of the mountain-bound town fleeing from the other side of the hill to get away from the raining blood. Liz grabbed Norman's hand and ran towards the mass of people.

"C'mon, Norman! We've got to get away from those spiders!" she shouted urgently.

Norman gripped his wife's hand and ran as fast as he could. Soon they entered the chaos within the crowd of panicked townsfolk, their own footsteps masked by the furious pounding of more feet on grass and by the screams of the people around them. While they were running, though, Norman found himself being bumped into too hard, and his grip with Liz slipped, and their hands were pried apart. Norman pushed against the crowd and tried to find Liz's head.

"LIZ! LIZ!" he shouted, still searching for her face.

But already he was separated from his wife. He didn't know for how long, but at least for the moment he was, in a way, alone.

* * *

Mark woke up with a really bad headache. He was in the dark for some reason and REALLY drafty, and when he tried to think about what was happening it hurt his brain. He didn't even know where he was. All he knew was that... No, wait... His head hurt too much to think. He tried to move around, but for some reason his arms and legs were stuck to the wall behind him with something sticky. Sticky... It was sticky like spider webs...

And then he remembered what had happened earlier. He was being lifted into the air by a black line of spider silk when it slipped off his arm and he fell and... And hit his head real bad. Then he remembered about the black spiders...

Cold swept over him like a tidal wave as realization set in. He was kidnapped by a group of bloodthirsty mutated spiders that wanted to burn his flesh with the blood from their eyeballs and then feast on his vital organs!

With the sudden flash of images rolling through his mind, Mark struggled furiously at the webs that stuck him to the wall. He still couldn't see through the dark, so he had no idea what he'd do if he actually broke free. He could be in some God-forsaken cave for all he knew.

During his moment of dark thoughts he heard a hiss come from the darkness beyond and he froze. The hiss echoed again a few seconds later. Mark, who was becoming more panicky by the second. Suddenly, he felt something cold drip on his arm, and he immediately thrashed, stabbing at an awkward angle with the sword in his hand. There was a screech and a lurch, and then a thud. Mark struggled harder against the webs, inching his diamond sword and cutting at the webs. A few minutes of awkward cutting later, Mark's sword arm broke free of the webs.

The moment his arm was free he heard another hiss in the dark and quickly sliced the webs cover his other arm. He rocketed out of the way just in time as he felt a spider's leg graze his as he made his getaway. Running blindly through the pitch-blackness Mark swung his sword wildly to keep any pursuing spiders away from him. While he was running he felt his shoe snag on something and he fell forward, leaving his snagged shoe behind. But instead of slamming into the ground he just kept falling through the darkness.

While falling he hit something slippery, cushioning his fall, but then he slid off and kept falling, smashing through what felt like branches and leaves.

"Ooh! Ow! Ah!" he cried.

Finally, he plummeted down to the ground and landed splat in the middle of a huge mud puddle. Sitting up shakily and soaked in mud, Mark looked around him to see he was now in a forest. There wasn't any snow, but instead a drizzle had been cast over him, and everything was wet. He stood up, wiping mud off his face and shivering badly. It was deadly cold, too, and he was missing one shoe, so his right foot was soaked to the bone.

As Mark was squinting to see through the rain and the trees, he saw something moving in the distance. Then it came closer and closer, and he saw long, black legs scuttling in his direction. Mark whirled around and ran, splashing through puddles and slipping on grass. The hissing and spitting coming from behind was getting closer, and he heard intense rustling on either side of him.

Suddenly, another giant black spider leapt from out of the brush and tackled him to the ground. He yelled and brought his sword upward, spearing the arachnid. He could still hear more spiders approaching, so he quickly pushed the spider off of him and jumped to his feet. He ran through the trees at top speed, his lungs burning, his throat tight. Just then, Mark took one more step and fell right through a huge pile of leaves. Screaming at the top of his lungs he fell down into darkness again, and unfortunately for him he once again smacked into what felt like webs. Suddenly, a torch somewhere nearby flared and the room was lit. He heard a grunt from next to him, and when he turned his head suddenly he saw Raven in his same situation, stuck eagle-spread to glistening black webs.

When she turned and noticed Mark she screamed,

"Mark! Help me!

"Hey, maybe if I wasn't stuck I would!" he retorted.

Just then, a hiss sounded through the room. Mark could see Raven's lip quivering.

"What was that?" she said frantically.

The hiss continued to sound through the room, and then a few seconds later the web below them began to vibrate, shaking both of them. Just then, the webs at their feet sprung up and burst as a MASSIVE spider rose up before them. This spider had eight black eyes, all of them punctured and oozing that black blood. The legs were so long that they touched the walls on either side of the room. It hissed again and clicked its menacing fangs at the two of them.

Raven was so afraid that she was crying, her dark makeup washing away in a mess on her face. It was strange to see her like that, since she seemed to unemotional all the time.

"Oh geez." he thought to himself. "She must have really bad arachnophobia..."

Then the spider hissed again and his head snapped back up to the creature's ugly face. The massive spider leaned towards Raven first, snapping its jaw, dripping saliva on her. Raven was absolutely wailing now, her makeup all over her face. It was actually a really depressing moment for Mark, because he HATED seeing girls cry—his friends always made fun of him for it, too.

Just then, Mark remembered that he still had his diamond sword, and he gripped it tight, edging it slowly along the webs. He split them one by one, freeing his sword arm, and soon enough he had regained movement of his right arm. Slowly and quietly he reached over and cut his other arm free. As soon as it was free his anger took control and he leapt forward, yelling at the top of his lungs. Before the huge spider could react he slid underneath its abdomen and stabbed upward with his sword, but then scrambled out of the way to avoid the acidic spray of blood that rained down from out of the wound.

The spider screeched and spat, thrashing around the room in pain. Mark ran over to the panicked Raven and quickly tugged on her webs to get her free. But as he was doing this, the spider fell over and smashed into the webbing with all its weight and the web floor beneath their feet broke apart. Mark and Raven fell—him shouting her screaming—down through the floor, but then landed on hard stone floor with him on top of her. For a moment, Raven just stared at him, and Mark's immediate response was to jump right off of her, but before he could do anything, she actually SMILED and pulled him into a kiss!

Mark's insides turned to stone for a full three seconds as he was being held against his will kissing Raven, her hands all over his back. This wasn't the way he had intended things to go! He wanted something so much more subtle just to satisfy Lucas! But RAVEN couldn't be enjoying it! Just as sudden as it had started it ended, and they heard somebody shout above them. Mark pushed himself off of Raven, his lips smeared with black, his inside still stone-cold, and looked up.

He could see Lucas about fifteen blocks up, staring down at them through the hole on the surface. He had a broad grin on his face and was winking obviously at Mark. Mark didn't even know what to say, he just stared with his face stuck in the horrified expression that he'd been wearing. He felt Raven touch his arm and he jumped, backing away from her. She looked at him with that mischievous smile still on her face.

"Raven, I have a girlfriend." said Mark, shaking his head.

Raven walked towards him and said,

"Yeah, but a moment ago I got a good feel of that body of yours, and MAN... I must admit I might be craving you..."

Raven couldn't have said anything more horrifying. Mark looked in his hotbar for some blocks to use to get away from her and out of the cave, and thankfully found some extra wood. He immediately did the jump-up pillar routine, jumping up and placing a block as fast as he could in order to get away from Raven. While he went higher and higher his mind was racing.

_"Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no... This cannot be happening!"_ he thought to himself.

When Mark finally got out of the hole he jumped up onto solid ground and became thankful that it was no longer raining. Lucas just grinned at him, but then he got a playful punch on the shoulder.

"Bro, you such a FA-LIRT!"

Mark punched him back—only his was meant to hurt—and muttered,

"Shut up."

But Lucas just laughed and continued.

"Man, it took forever to get away from those spiders what with your sister panicking and muttering nonstop about dying. I was able to beat them up eventually, and we just fled into the forest—she's still catching up, but she'll be here in a moment. Anyway, I saw this hole and when I looked down in it the first thing I saw was a huge dead spider sitting fifteen blocks down on the ground. Then I looked over and saw YOU making out with Raven!" he said, not bothering to keep a straight face.

This got him laughing, and that exact moment Vanessa walked in on the scene, gasping for breath. She collapsed onto her knees and gasped,

"Lucas... *huff* You need to... *huff* Slow down!"

Mark looked down and noticed Vanessa sitting there, and he immediately threw his arms around her.

"Vanessa! I thought you'd die back there with the spiders!"

Vanessa, highly embarrassed, shook him off and said,

"Alright, alright, stop hugging me already."

A few moments later, more people burst through the trees. It was Gabe—who looked very pale and sick, but nevertheless awake and alert—and he was riding on Felix. Following him was Kelsey riding Elmer, who just looked frantic. She leapt off Elmer and threw herself on Mark.

"MAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAARK!" she wailed, crying into his shoulder.

Mark comforted her, rubbing her back slowly and muttering slowly.

"It's all right. I'm ok."

When Kelsey let go of him words started spilling out of her mouth.

"When you were gone for an hour we started getting worried! Gabe woke up and I told him about what was going on and he insisted on going to find you because he thought you were in trouble so we ran through the mountains and into that desert back there! Felix and Elmer were running around frantically like they were spooked like heck and so we took them and entered the forest that was nearby looking for you. We saw Lucas and Vanessa somewhere inside and quick caught up with them, and now..."

But then Kelsey stopped and started staring at Mark. He became aware that she was looking at his lips.

"Why are your lips smeared with black lipstick?"

Mark hastily wiped it off his face with his sleeve—which was a very difficult feat, because it seemed plastered to his skin—and muttered,

"It's, uh, nothing. Nothing, really."

Just then, Raven came up out of the hole and jumped onto the grass. Kelsey took one look at her for about a second and then looked back at Mark. Her eyes grew wide and she took a sharp intake of breath, and tears brimmed to her eyes as realization entered her mind. Mark grabbed her shoulder and said,

"No, it's not what you think!"

But Kelsey shook his hand off and backed away. She tried to form words, but then the tears she had been holding back spilled onto her cheeks and she just ran away, crying loudly into the forest so that it echoed both in the trees and in Mark's mind. This was the worst situation Mark could have dreamed up. Several of their members were badly injured or sick, everyone was cold and going hungry and without shelter. And now... Now the person that mattered most in Mark's life hated his guts. With all this clouding his mind, Mark couldn't think properly. He just sat down right there in the dirt and fell silent.

* * *

**No... Nonononononono! Has it really come to this?! ...I'm so cruel! X3**

**Well, while you're all hating me I'll try and distract you with QAA I guess. (Man, I kinda hate myself.)**

**Dear Notch: Don't take that kind of tone with me! I can delete my Mojang account like THAT! *snaps***

Notch: Do not back-sass me; I am a God! Mm! *snaps back*

**To the Glitch: Let's see how you can deal with this! *Flies as fast as he can and flies into The Glitch's mouth* This is it! Dragon fist! *a giant dragon comes out of his fist and keeps growing until The Glitch explodes* You're just like Frieza! You're a tyrant that rules over a race of people and treats them without respect! This battle is over!**

The Glitch: *the bits of the Glitch all over the place swirl together and form the Glitch as it was before, and it cackles*_ I must say, I am deeply disappointed! I thought you might be some fun to toy with, but... You're just too pathetic for me. MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!_

**To the Glitch: Chill bro. Get some hoes, a show with a lot of seasons, and relax. Like a boss.**

The Glitch:_ I am THE boss, brotha! _*spreads wings*_ COME AT ME BRO!_

**To the Glitch: *straps on mind control device and makes it wet itself***

The Glitch: *instead of strapping on it disintegrates*_ PUNY MORTAL! NOTHING CAN TOUCH ME UNLESS I ALLOW IT! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!_

**To Kelsey: Kelsey since your Christian did you ever listen to Skillet? if you did and you were still alive (Sorry but it had to be said) We would be friends! I would say BF & GF but you're in a Relationship and I respect that.**

Kelsey: *sniffles, pauses for a moment, and then,* BWAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH! *sobs on and on* MAHAHAHAHARK DOESN'T LOVE MEEEEEEEEEE! *continues to sob*

**Well, after a terribly depressing chapter, I must ask a few questions to you all. What do YOU think will happen now that a new horribly horrible love triangle has formed around Mark, Raven and Kelsey? Who will Mark choose? Does he want Kelsey, who represents a pleasant angel, or Raven, who is the tempting devil? (I KNOWWWWWWW)** **Find out next chapter in VOiD! But for now, this is Pastrinator64, and I'll see you later with chapter numbah twenty!**

***throws sugar bomb, disappears in a cloud of fine white sugar***

**Byyyyyeeeeee...**

**~Pastrinator64 [~]**


	20. Chapter 20: Diamond University

**Hello, this is Pastrinator64 with another chapter from VOiD. Well everybody, I only have maybe a half a week before I go back to school, maybe five days or something. This means I won't have nearly as much free time when the school year starts for me, so there's definitely the possibility that chapters will come at a much slower pace. Even tonight I have Open House, so that's a sure sign that summer vacation's ending.**

**Another important announcement involves our OCs. The winner of the OC contest was, once again, Kyle McShade with his OC: Astrid Villson. Astrid will be appearing in this chapter and in many to come, so don't be put off by the fact that she isn't the superstar of the chapter, because she'll get her moments! ;D Thanks Ky!**

**By the way, I don't know if you can review this chapter after I already posted the announcement, so if it says you can't put in your reviews then just log out of your account and put in your name as a guest when you review. Thanks again! :D **

**Well, for now let's just get on with some replies to reviews. :D**

Replies To Reviews...

**expensivecorn9: **YES HE DOES HE WANT KELSEY BIG AMOUNT! *repeats in a caveman voice*

**Volcanic the hedgehog: **I know, right? Have you noticed that a lot of what happened to Norman is happening to Mark only in a slightly different way? It's like repeating history!

**Somebody10101: **I am SOOOO mean. X33333

**Kyle McShade: **Don't worry, the next chapters will be a whole lot more cheerful. I won't go into great detail, though. ;)

**BfheadGamer: **Yeah, but that would be way too anticlimactic.

**CSICreeper: **Woah, woah! Sorry, dude! I didn't want to offend you in any way. :/

**CSICreeper: **Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry... :/ Would you forgive me, please?

**CSICreeper: **Mark would be Link, Kelsey would be Zelda, and... Gabe isn't evil, but if he were he'd totally be Ganondorf.

**Nwinds: **Yes, yes, yea verily!

**Enderdude: **I just hate skeletons, ESPECIALLY if there's more than one! Plus, you can't kill it if you're stuck in the water, because you barely move at all, and then the arrow knocks you back to the same spot! *grunts in frustration*

**CSICreeper: **Mmmhmm.

**YoshiEmblem: **Ah, that's okay. I'll be accepting OCs again later, though.

**somebody10101: **Yep, that's pretty much what might happen here.

**Well, that's all fine and dandy, but how about we just get on with the story?**

**Hello, this is Pastrinator64 with another chapter from VOiD. Last time on VOiD we watched as Mark received a vision involving the capture of Vanessa, Lucas and Bonbon the baby Creeper. He was only able to save Bonbon from this fate, but Vanessa and Lucas were forced away from their group by a trio of mutated airborne spiders. After convincing that Raven deserved a chance to get out for once, Mark and Raven headed off into the forest riding the two trusty steeds Felix and Elmer. They too got captured by the flying arachnids, but Mark escaped fairly quickly, only to fall once again into a sticky web of silk with Raven. Thankfully, Mark was able to slay the leader of the mutated spiders and free him and Raven from the webs. But, before he could get out of the dark prison, he unearthed a horrible truth: Raven had feelings for him. He was forced into a kiss with the Goth, but finally got out of the hole, though deeply shaken. As most of their friends found them both there in the forest, a flustered Kelsey realized what had happened down in that hole with Mark and Raven, and she fled the scene, leaving Mark in a terrible state of grief. Now we watch the aftermath of it all as Mark wakes up to find himself in a warm bed in a briefly unknown place rather than soaking in the muddy forest, wallowing in despair.**

**Now, let the story commence!**

* * *

_Chapter 20: Diamond University_

When Mark awoke again he was no longer lying down in the mud, but for some reason he felt something soft beneath him, like a mattress. Plus, he could feel covered placed over him, which was a surprise. If he was in a bed, then he was in a home. And if he was in a home, then...

He snapped his eyes open and sat up hurriedly, looking around. No longer was he down in the mud; that was for certain. Instead of a home, he lay in a comfy bed in what looked like an infirmary. He could see more beds lining the walls with many different people, mostly teenagers and kids, but still with some adults and/or elders, each with varying degrees of damage on their bodies. When Mark looked left he was relieved to see Adrian in the bed next to him, and then Gabe after him and Rexum farther over. Adrian was resting with his calloused hands over his chest, Gabe looked knocked out cold once more, and Rexum was also asleep, and with a few tubes leading from a machine into his back, pumping some kind of green liquid.

Mark could see a nurse standing over a patient at the other end of the room, but nobody else was in the room. He turned to look at Adrian, and attempted to lean over and shake him awake. His arms were just long enough to reach Adrian's shoulder if he leaned all the way.

"Adrian! Adrian! Wake up!" he whispered.

Adrian opened his eyes and looked over groggily at Mark. The grogginess immediately vanished from his eyes when he saw Mark, and then the old grin spread across his face.

"Hey, you're finally awake. You know, when y-you..." he stifled a small yawn. "This is jus' what I heard, but when ya were down in dat mud back dere ya just sorta lost consciousness. They had ter carry ya back ta camp, and when they got dere, somebody was already dere. It was some nurse lady who was takin' good care o' Rexum and I because we'd been left dere alone by Kelsey an' Gabe. She gave us all an explanation about dat dere university she worked at, and more medics came to take us dere. And now, here we are!"

Mark took a third look around the infirmary and said,

"But then where are Vanessa and Lucas and Raven? And all our animals?" he paused for a moment. "And Kelsey?"

Adrian shook his head and then looked towards the nurse on the far end of the room.

"Well... The others are staying in the student dorms at Diamond University—which is where we are now, only we're in the infirmary." he also paused. "And Kelsey... She's... Well... Mark, first tell me what actually happened between you and Raven. Lucas told me you were making out with 'er down in dat cave."

For a moment Mark just stopped. Suddenly, anger set into his blood, boiling and making his head spin. Lucas... Lucas, Lucas, Lucas! Mark turned towards Adrian and said,

"It's all Lucas's fault!" he muttered loudly, clenching his fists. "Alright, you want the story? I'll give it to you! I wasn't hanging out with Lucas very much for a while, so when I came to apologize a few days ago he said he'd only forgive me if I kissed Raven. He gave me three days and said that he'd have to see it for it to count. So, I decided to do it one of those nights when everybody was asleep so that nobody, not even Raven, would notice, and they'd all still be asleep except Lucas. Well, with the trouble of you and Gabe being attacked, I totally forgot about it!

"That night when the flying spiders took Vanessa and Lucas away to their deaths, Raven offered to come with me to go help because she wanted to kill something to get rid of her energy. Kelsey wouldn't allow it, because she figured something like this would happen, but honestly I had NO interest for Raven whatsoever—I don't like Goths, I'm sorry, it's just... I don't like being gloomy.

"Anyway, in my mind I knew I'd have to bring Raven and somehow get Lucas to see me kiss her, otherwise I'd be left with guilt the rest of my life. So when Kelsey finally agreed to let us go and have her stay with you guys, Raven and I took the horses into the forest, and then we came out on a desert. We got attacked by the spiders, and both of use got held captive. I escaped pretty quick and landed in another forest, and when I started looking for Raven I fell through a hole and landed on the webs. Raven was stuck down there too, so we were both screwed.

"Then this huge mutated spider came up and attacked us—and from the looks of it Raven has a huge fear of spiders—but I got free and killed it. At that point I was really, really confused on why she offered to come with us if she was deathly afraid of spiders, but now I know that it was to get me alone with her. Anyway, when the spider died, it fell through the webs and broke the floor, so we both just fell down onto the ground below, and I was on top of her. Then she just smiled and started MAKING OUT with me! I was absolutely horrified, because she was acting like we had been in a relationship forever, her hands all over my body. Ugh.

"Finally I got off of her and I escaped the hole, and I found Lucas standing over the hole. Apparently he'd been spying on us from up there to enjoy the show. Anyway, Vanessa came crashing through the trees—I was glad to see her, obviously. And then Gabe and Kelsey came galloping through the trees riding Felix and Elmer. Kelsey looked like she'd been crying, and she threw herself on me because she thought I had died or something. Well, that's when she noticed that my lips were smeared with Raven's black lipstick. And then when Raven jumped out of the hole Kelsey put two and two together and... Well, here we are."

When Mark was done with his story, Adrian just stared at him with sorry eyes.

"Partner, you've really got some bad luck, tha's for sure. So, it was all started by Lucas... Tha' kid was always annoyin' anyway."

Then Mark started getting angry again.

"Yeah, he was always butting in on stuff. Plus he's the youngest of all of us, he's probably not even thirteen yet! Always following me around like a shadow, and he always seemed to be on Gabe's bad side for some reason. What has he done to help so far?! Anything?! I haven't seen him in combat once! Not him or his oh-so awesome weapon C.H.O., no sir! If it weren't for Lucas, maybe Kelsey wouldn't be crying her eyes out somewhere! She'd be by my side right now! I wouldn't have to deal with this whole RAVEN thing! GOD, I HATE LUCAS!"

At that moment a nurse approached him and said,

"Excuse me, but you're waking up the other patients. Please be quiet."

She walked away after that, leaving Mark to steam in his own rage. Adrian was looking at him seriously.

"Mark, I know what you want to do, and I agree."

Mark turned to look at Adrian, and he snapped,

"Do what?!"

Adrian put on a grin.

"Payback."

Mark froze for a moment. Then he felt a smile creeping across his face too.

"Yes, that's exactly what I was thinking..."

* * *

Meanwhile in the Nether, Herobrine was driving his Ghast through the drive-thru at McDonalds. He had been on one LONG trip to the Aether for a week, but when he couldn't find Notch to talk to the whole trip was a waste of time, and he had to drive ALL the way back to the Nether. He couldn't use his normal Aether portal for some reason because it had stopped working, so he went the long way for nothing, really.

He drove up to the window and found a seedy-looking teenager working there. The guy handed him his food—which took a while—and then said,

"That's twelve Big Macs, twenty-two large fries, and thirty-five chocolate chip McCafé's. Your total is $769.04."

Herobrine was in fact paying a visit to Earth—they didn't have any McDonalds restaurants in the Minecraft Dimension. He grumbled and made the money appear in his hand, and then handed it over to the seedy teenager.

"Hmph. It's been 420 years and the prices are four times higher than they were back then."

Before he could pull away from the drive-thru window the teenager leaned over and looked at his huge pile of food.

"So, you gonna eat that all by yourself, man?" he asked sarcastically.

Herobrine glared at him and muttered,

"I'm not in a very good mood, please don't talk to me."

He was about to drive away, but then the pimply teen continued, leaning over even farther, staring at his gleaming white Ferrari with the large red hood ornament and blood-red headlights.

"Nice car." then the teenager looked up and started staring obviously at Herobrine's glowing white eyes. "And dude, wicked contacts. How'd you get them to glow like that?"

Herobrine stared back menacingly, paused for a moment, and then pointed at the sleeve of his McDonalds uniform, and it instantly started on fire. The kid's eyes widened and he let out a little unmanly scream, shaking his arm to put out the flames—which unfortunately for him wouldn't go out for a while.

Herobrine drove away still steaming in his bad mood. He closed his eyes, took his hands off the steering wheel, and then focused on his home in the Nether. Suddenly, he felt the temperature around him increase by thirty to forty degrees, and when he opened his eyes he was back in the Nether, and his white Ferrari had destroyed its disguise, turning back into a Ghast. Like in Mythology, there was a such thing as the Mist, so that's why the seedy guy at the McDonalds hadn't freaked out by seeing the Ghast—all he saw was a really sweet car.

While he drove his Ghast through the air towards his home he munched on his McDonalds. Obviously, being a God meant having a God-sized appetite, so of COURSE he needed so much food. It was terrible air traffic, though, because with the mess the Glitch was causing there were mobs flying everywhere, carrying messages, complaints, etc. He got caught in a traffic jam with a couple hundred other Ghasts, and while he drummed his fingers impatiently he finished the rest of his food within minutes.

Finally, he got out of the traffic jam and made it to the Nether Palace; home sweet home. His wife was waiting for him, and he was so happy to see Emily standing there waiting to greet him. His daughter Lily was no longer a little girl as we last saw, but she was already married and in her own home, so she lived a few miles away near Netherwart Grove.

When Herobrine parked and jumped off his Ghast he was greeted with a kiss from Emily. She smiled at him and said,

"How was your week?"

Herobrine sighed deeply.

"Notch was nowhere to be found."

Emily's white eyes widened and she said,

"The Glitch couldn't have taken him, could it?"

Herobrine shook his head and looked up at the Netherrack far above.

"No, no. I'd be able to feel if Notch left us. I'd also be able to sense if the Glitch had been there, it'd have left a trace of its darkness somewhere behind."

Herobrine walked through the hallway with Emily, and as he walked he wondered to himself,

"Where IS Notch?"

* * *

"Alright, what do you want?" grumbled Notch.

Notch was standing in a wool-crafted home built in the Aether, a little place deep in the Ambrosia Mountains.

"Mmmhmm, what do I want?" replied the unknown figure that sat in the turned chair in front of him.

The figure behind the chair laughed on and on, not letting up even the slightest. Notch stamped forward, hitching up the grass skirt that he was still forced to wear.

"This is hardly a joke! You must realize that I am the first ruler of Minecraftia, so if I am seen like this it'll all be over for me!"

The man in the chair laughed again.

"Exactly, my dear old friend! You know I have a taste for mischief, and THIS is only something I've ever dreamed of. You'd have to do something else that benefits me if you want to get off the hook. Heheheheheh!"

The figure rolled over in his seat, laughing like crazy, kicking his legs. Notch moved in front of him and said,

"Stop being childish! I am not going to be blackmailed!"

The figure stopped laughing and stared hard at Notch.

"But you can't do anything to help yourself at the moment, can you? You need clothes, and I can supply them for you, but NOT without something in return..."

Notch sighed and started pacing the carpeted floor, thinking over his situation. Finally, he came to his decision and let out a huge sigh.

"Alright, tell me what your demands are."

* * *

It took Mark and Adrian both two more days of rest before they could get up and move. Gabe would still take another day, and Rexum would take four. The morning that they were allowed to move, Mark and Adrian jumped from their beds and headed out the door to explore the rest of the university. As they walked they talked about their old lives back on Earth a lot more. They laughed and talked for a while, and then noon came, so they headed down to the cafeteria. Being guests they got free meals, so Mark loaded up on as many tacos he could and sat down with Adrian at an empty table. The two of them leaned in—looking totally unsuspicious—and began to plan for Lucas's downfall.

"Alright, what is Lucas going to have to go through now that he's totally RUINED my life?" murmured Mark with an edge of anger.

"I dunno, but whatever happens has gotta be in front o' the rest'a the group."

"Good idea." replied Mark.

While they were discussing their plans against Lucas, somebody approached them and they looked up suddenly. It was just another girl on campus. She looked about the same size as Kelsey, only with a stronger build, and she looked about fourteen years old or so. She had dirty blonde hair that looked slightly wavy, and her eyes were like a dark aquamarine. She was wearing a dark blue plaid shirt and jeans, plus a pair of grayish sneakers. She surprised them both by sitting down next to Adrian and looking at them both.

"I've seen that look before." she muttered to both of them.

Mark and Adrian glanced at each other for a moment, but then Mark stared at the girl and said,

"Er, who are you?"

She extended a hand to them.

"Name's Astrid Villson."

The gears in Mark's brain clicked together for a few seconds.

"Wait, Villson isn't a Block power... Are you from Earth?"

Astrid grinned and said,

"Well, I don't mean to brag, but... Yeah, pretty much. That's what I tell everyone around me—it's true, though—just to impress them. But most people just call me by my Block power, Astrid Silverfishstone. Yeah, it's a mouthful, but it's worth it."

Mark looked skeptically at her for a moment.

"Wait... You can't already have a Block power if you're fourteen, isn't there some kind of test you take at the end of the year?"

Astrid gave him a sneer and said,

"Whoever said I was fourteen? I'm fifteen, genius! I took my tests last year, I'm just visiting my cousins who go to school here."

Mark gave a small cough at this news. She did look a year younger, but... Oh well, it didn't matter. Mark extended a hand slowly and said,

"I'm, er, Mark. This is Adrian."

Astrid ignored his hand completely and just said,

"Yeah, okay. So, I want to know what kind of stuff you're planning."

Mark's eyes widened and he looked over at Adrian, who was giving this Astrid girl a suspicious look. Had she been eavesdropping?

"We weren't planning—"

Astrid held her hand up and grinned mischievously.

"You can't fool me. I've seen that look so many times before, and it can only mean you're planning something against someone who deserves it. I know it because I get that look ALL the time. And what I want to know is WHAT you're planning, because I want in."

There was a moment of silence as Mark looked Astrid up and down. First of all, she looked like she didn't really like them at all, and just seemed like she wanted to get in on the joke. He barely had any idea who this person was except for her name, so he crossed his arms and shook his head firmly.

"No. I barely know you, why would I want to let you in on our joke?"

Astrid laughed and pointed at him.

"Aha! I knew it!"

Mark immediately slapped himself and cursed under his breath. He'd already given away the fact that they were planning something, and if any more information DID slip out, this Astrid girl could run amuck with the info in her head, and who knows what she could do with it. Still, Mark just folded his arms back and shook his head a second time.

"No, no, no. I'm not telling you any more info, and WE are going back to our planning. Goodbye."

Astrid grumbled and stood up, leaving the table and muttering something that sounded distinctly like "boys". They two of them forgot completely about Astrid as they talked on about their plans for Lucas. Then around dinner, all the students came down and sat down at the tables. Mark and Adrian decided to talk with everybody and socialize. After grabbing some dinner they sat down at a table and just started talking with everyone. There were people from all different parts of Minecraftia, like in places Mark had never heard of.

There was even this one really weird kid from the Far Lands, which was probably why he was surrounded by a swarm of friends. Mark started up a conversation with a very pale, large boy who had ruffled blonde hair and a silver T-shirt. who was showing off a multi-colored stone to everybody.

"My name's Josh." he said to Mark. Then he pointed to the rainbow stone and said, "I was mining last night and I found this thing. I dunno what it does, but when I brought it to the History Of Mining professor—you know, Professor Stone, that elderly dude who bores everybody's pants off—he said that it was a rare stone called an Arcuniris. Dunno what that means, what who cares? All I care about is finishing school, because BOY do I want the Block power of Torch, that'd be great; I'd never have to worry about mining again!"

Adrian ended up making friends with this girl named Anna. She was a small girl who was actually Adrian's age, but she was SO self conscious about herself that she was covered everywhere except her face, and even that was shadowed over by her jacket hood.

After dinner all the students had to head back up to their dorm rooms and go to bed, and Mark got a really nice one with a mirror, cabinets, mini fridge and even a massage-bed—mods, mods, mods galore. As he looked around at his epic room, Mark just laughed and said,

"Man! These guys must really love guests!"

Then the door to his room opened and in came another kid. He realized that it was Josh from dinner. Josh squeezed in through the doorframe and stopped when he saw Mark standing there in the middle of the room.

"Oh, so YOU'RE my roommate!" he said, nodding and giving an Obama-style "Not Bad" face.

Mark stood there for a moment, but then he just shrugged and said,

"Ohh... So that's why there were two beds."

Mark and Josh stayed awake that night, which was basically all spent with Mark listening to Josh talk about his classes and the university and everything that goes on around the place.

"Yeah, so I turned fourteen a few weeks ago." said Josh, grinning to himself. "Tomorrow's the start of Blockbuster Week, which is basically a whole week of nonstop relaxation for all graduating students. We get a week of free time before Blockbusting Day, which is the day of the final exams, which decide our whole lives, pretty much. It all depends on how you score in all the tests—unless you turn up to be a Mobwhisperer, because then you don't even take the same tests. If you get a crappy score on the tests, you probably get some dumb Block power like Cobweb."

Mark gave a little choke when he heard the word "cobweb" come out of Josh's mouth. Had his dad done really bad on the final exams? Was that why he was stuck with that Block power? Mark didn't want Josh to go on about Cobweb powers, so he told him about his dad. As soon as the name came from his lips, Josh's eyes widened so big it looked like they'd weigh him down.

"You... You're NORMAN COBWEB'S SON?!"

Mark fell over the side of his bed with a cry, smashing the back of his head on the mini fridge. He rubbed his head and stood up, flopping back on his bed.

"Yeah, that's right."

Mark took a quick glance out the window and actually did a double take. He moved to the window and looked outside. They were in a village, a large one too, but they were really positioned on top of a mushroom island! Those were rare in the world of Minecraft. He turned back to Josh and said,

"Wait, so we're on a mushroom island?"

Josh nodded and said,

"Yep! There are more Diamond Universities all over Minecraftia. We've got some in the Overworld and down here in The Void—specifically Buenomalo, of course. They always insist on building them on mushroom islands in honor of the first mayor of the first Smelttown and its Diamond University. Interesting, huh?"

Mark nodded and started towards the door with a tube of toothpaste and his toothbrush. Josh scrambled to the edge of his bed and watched in awe at Mark as he stood up and walked out into the hall. As Mark walked past several doors to other students' rooms towards the bathroom, Josh followed him and started talking his ear off.

"Wow! I still can't believe I'm roommates with Norman Cobweb's son! Your dad's a living legend! He's in every book about the Glitch out there!"

Mark felt a grin spread to his lips. His whole life he thought that his dad was just... Well, you know, a DAD. But with all this information about him being famous and all, it made him want to get back to Earth as soon as possible and ask about his old adventures in the Minecraft Dimension. Josh pestered him with his talk even while he was brushing his teeth in the bathroom.

"So, how is it possible that you inherited Norman Cobweb's Block powers? Do you think Notch did something or what?"

As Mark was flossing, another boy student came tearing through the bathroom and knock Mark over as he made a beeline for a urinal.

"COMING THROUGH!" he screamed urgently.

A few moments later, a second boy with a shaved head and dull gray eyes came in the room. He looked right over Mark at the kid standing by the urinal, and then looked down at Mark himself. After helping Mark to his feet, the boy said,

"Sorry. My name's Barry." he pointed at the kid over Mark and Josh's shoulders and said, "That's Jack. He's got a weak bladder."

On that awkward note, the boy left the bathroom, leaving Mark and Josh standing there alone with the other kid Jack. When he was done with his business he walked back down the small tile path and said an apology to Mark for knocking him over, and then left quickly. Josh kept on asking questions all the way down the hall until they reached their room, and then he actually stopped, but only because Mark asked this question,

"So, what happens during Blockbusting week?"

Suddenly, Josh's face lit up with an excited grin.

"Oh man! Where do I start?" he murmured, flopping back on his bed.

Josh told Mark all about Blockbusting week and how epic it would be. Blockbusting week was only for graduating students, and he'd dreamt of the week actually coming for him to experience, and that now that it was here he could hardly believe it. The week was basically just free time for all the graduating students, so the whole week was full of poker parties, junk food and other great stuff. From the sound of it, Mark thought that it would be great to stay for the week. He'd be at so many parties it would be like heaven to him. He laughed to himself when he thought of how Vanessa would manage the week, because if there was anything she hated more than anything, it was NOISE.

That night Mark went to bed with a high charisma. He had a whole week to look forward too. That also meant a whole week to plan for Lucas's downfall and a whole week for him to make up to Kelsey for what happened. It seemed as though nothing could go wrong!_  
_

* * *

**Mwahahahahahahahaha! Am I foreshadowing here, or is this a red herring?! YOU DON'T KNOW AND IT AMUSES ME! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!**

**Anyway, enough of my Glitch-like laughter, let's get on with some more QAA!**

**To the Glitch: *fills up ultimate spray gun with adimantium and sprays at the Glitch, surrounding it, and then freezes it with a freeze ray* Eat that, jerk!**

The Glitch: *breaks free of ice and grins evilly* _EAT THIS!_ *sprays black plasma at your face* _MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!_

**To Mark: *pulls out hypnotizing equipment and sets it up* You are getting very sleepy. When I snap my fingers you will awaken, but for now you will love Kelsey and hate Raven. *snaps finger***

Mark: *avoids your hypnotic gaze* Hey, hey! I already hate Raven, so why does everybody think I'd betray her for Kelsey! *becomes really frustrated*

**To the Glitch: You think I'm weak? Well, let's see you deal with this! *Instant Transmissions to the treasure chamber and has a Kamehameha at ready* I can ruin your plans, right here, right now!**

The Glitch: *laughs evilly* _I can teleport too, you twit!_ *teleports right in front of you and screeches menacingly* _LET'S GO! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!_

**To Kelsey: Like they say, let God lead the way, and ask him to help you forgive. Do you forgive Mark? It's the hardest thing to give away, the last thing on your mind today, it can even set a prisoner free. (I like that song.)**

Kelsey: *sniffs* That's beautiful...

**To the Glitch: Why are you called the Glitch?**

The Glitch: _Actually, that is what the Spirits In Between named me, but I find it very suitable, so it all works! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!_

**To the Glitch: I'll will give you a lifetime's supply of Nutella and pastry if you make pastrinator suffer for what he did to marks relationship. D:(**

The Glitch: _AGREED!_ *gobbles up Nutella* _MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!_

**To Kelsey: *box of chocolates***

Kelsey: Th-thanks... *nibbles feebly on the corner of a caramel-filled chocolate*

**To Norman: Leave Mark alone, he has a quest to get on with.**

Norman: Wait, he does?!

**To Notch: A "god" is the technical grammar for you, not cap G. And really, you are a weak god. Don't you own a dictionary?**

Notch: Fine! Have it your way! I'll go ask Pastrinator64 to fix the grammar errors! *fourth wall shatters for the billionth time*

**To Norman: qiuwedyFGLIAEDFHIJGAKERIFHUGQLGH;OHeyaruiheilrghiu g;HR;IOYHO'iy;UIOYUIAEGUIHUIHihl;uihglkwrjtghkjwnr vkjhgkijlhtuigwhtuihwrthwrijthwuitugiqy84578937ifj hgjkehguiyrtuhgjkhwrtuiheruigheruigyhruiuirtuiyuie yuiyiueyjhtjhrtuiy389ruyuiuiy8qiuq89t48yiuryjqhrui jyuiytiuhbertlhyrihthueifghuegkjergh8934 yujruirty8io7uieryuiqyrtuhtuiyrhtjh uigyrthuifehgjkqeryu3t789u;OI87Wuhb*UITUIyyuihlkiw heruigyhworityuhwjkeryhwetishgkugwlui rygvlsdfl; qag. jkaheroklheijhatui gjklh ajk;qrghjkl;eargherghjkearhjkltkjaghklqjrhjklhweui oyhu4i9tbhjlhe;hjierhtuieythuiyrt li iuytquiythehkajrhgudghuie4ryluierytglqertuiuihqeri kuioqeryuiohvtwyuighe4rtghwl eryuihuysjklhwopuhjguiohjiohgrfuhljihrgliojhrejghq erijlghio;yert89245yoiw47645 94508p82 4uyh lihgwht,ujkerhkljerh2632434456755gdkufgwejfhjhkfgl hjqagrfluqfgefhjgwedqfhjguhkwedgfuhdgqfhjkgefuygeu gf eyugqwyughjwekfguwyerguiwergyergyuwe ghjkFDGHJFGHJKdfgjhWEGUHrfghjEGYU236T47UYGHEYU3YU  
hgfkjhagfhjugrghjLIUHGUGHuHIGYUHGYUHGhjGHhg8745652 84576$£$£$%&gjhjkhdghfgjkhuifghuiersdfgotjhbadrugjyq 3IHEUI4567Y4UI89ioqy894 q3io45y28io34hj6nIOY4 IO6QUJ89ru jyiowrowue34iopUIoiawerutpiouwetioeryoihertioheori theujrhuerhuioyhkjhtgkjhrt;oiheryioherjkheriojoake rjkojrioajtkljretkljerokjeriojaeijerjkjgklerjhirnh jkyhjkerertjgkdfjkl;sdfjkl;jkl;dfosdfjkl;ofjkl;fjk ldfjkldfsjkldfsjkldf;sjkl;asdfjkl;asdfjkl;sdfajksd fkljaejajkghjkdfjkladeklfj;kldjf;**

Norman: Dafuq did I just read?

**To Norman: Do you really miss Danny? He sucks more than school.**

Norman: You know, that one's still undecided.

**To Quinn: What happened to Doughbelly?**

Quinn: *turns away from you* I don't like to talk about it...

**To Bailey: What happened to the Mechacreeper?**

Bailey: You mean Blackberry? Oh right, he's helping out in Herobrine's army now, and I'll be honest; I'm very pleased. :D

**Well then, for next time, what kind of week will this turn out to be now that the group has food, shelter, and clean clothes for the first time in a while? Will it be enough time for Mark to make up with Kelsey? What kind of punishment will Lucas have to suffer for ruining Mark's life? And do you really think that Astrid will give up on her schemes so easily?** **Find out next chapter in VOiD! But for now, this is Pastrinator64, and I'll see you later with chapter numbah twenty-one!**

***throws sugar bomb, disappears in a cloud of fine white sugar***

**Byyyyyeeeeee...**

**~Pastrinator64 [~]**


	21. Chapter 21: Break His Soul In Half

**Hello, this is Pastrinator64 with another chapter from VOiD. Sorry about the longer wait, guys. I had my fourteenth birthday yesterday—WOOT WOOT—and unfortunately it was also my first day of eight grade. Yeah, that sucked buckets. I've just been busy with school and everything, so it took me a bit longer to get cracking on this next chapter. I am actually pretty proud of myself for this one, especially at the ending. Astrid appears quite a few times in this one, so she keeps bouncing back, too. Anyway, I'm not gonna give you any more info beyond that. Let's just get on with replies to reviews! :D**

Replies To Reviews...

**Volcanic the hedgehog: **I like to picture Josh as a chubby fourteen year-old with a baby face. Yeah, that's pretty much it. ;D

**BfheadGamer: **Nice! Wait, was that before or after you read the chapter?

**CSICreeper: **Don't like the whole Kelsey-being-heartbroken thing, do you? Then you're gonna HATE these next chapters, man. *evil laughter*

**Nwinds: **1. Hey, wait a moment, I had maybe two sentences involving the Mist. I don't go any deeper into that anyway, because if I did I'd have a LOT of work to do, and that's if I actually wanted to include Mythology, which I really don't (not including Minecraftia's legends and stuff). You do know that there's a Mythology mod for Minecraft, right? 2. Not Bad. :[ 3. Wait... What do you mean Malware free? I have no idea what that means, honestly.

**Enderdude: **Dude, I'm not picking favorites with Ky. He just gave the best overall OC, that's all. And yes, I don't care which OC you use for the next OC acceptance, although I have NO clue when I'll be asking for OCs again, but it will be a while, that's certain.

**Alrighty then! Shall we get on with the story? Yes? Yes.**

**Hello, this is Pastrinator64 with another chapter from VOiD. Last time on VOiD we watched as Mark awoke to find himself in a new place much different from the sodden forest he had fallen in before. He was in an infirmary instead, the hospital wing of the famous Diamond University—or at least another duplicate of it. There he became part of a group of graduating students and met some new friends, all of which were great. But still, with the infamous Astrid Silverfishstone following him everywhere and his thoughts still focused on getting Kelsey back and getting back at Lucas, Mark was still distracted from all the other things in his life. He wasn't sure what he'd have to do to get Kelsey to see the truth, plus what would he do to Lucas to make him pay for ruining a perfect relationship? Well, Mark's decisions only get tougher from here.**

**Now, let the story commence!**

* * *

_Chapter 21: Break His Soul In Half_

Mark and Josh slept for the start of Blockbusting week since neither of them had to attend classes. It was nice for both of them; it was good for Mark because he had gotten pretty much zero sleep ever since their house had gotten burned down, and it was good for Josh because he'd had to wake up early for classes for a LONG time before then.

When they did wake up at 10:45 AM, they both got dressed—Mark got reasonably tasteful clothes from the university—and headed out into the hall where they found all the other graduating boys standing around and talking or moving through the hall this way and that. On their way down the stairwell Adrian caught up to them.

"Mornin, Mark!"

He looked at Josh, who was actually only three inches shorter than Adrian.

"So, who's your friend?"

Josh held out a pudgy hand to Adrian's calloused one and they shook hands.

"My name's Josh. I haven't got a Block power yet, but I will in just a week." he said with a polite smile on his face.

Adrian smiled back and they continued down the stairwell.

"My name's Adrian Grass." he said. (He didn't give his REAL last name from Earth, which would involve too much explaining.)

They headed down to breakfast and ate all they could for an hour, talking and talking about the upcoming week. But then, after an hour murmurs started to fly through the mass of fourteen year-old students as the president of Diamond University came up onto the podium that stood in front of all the cafeteria tables. The man was actually quite gangly with shaggy, unkempt hair, but still had a nice tan like he had taken a trip to Hawaii. The president cleared his throat and spoke into the microphone in front of him.

"Good morning, students!" he said brightly, beaming around at all of them. "I know that there has been a lot of hype leading up to Blockbusting week, and I am happy to announce that everything has been scheduled as planned and all accidents from the previous years have been avoided!"

Mark turned to Josh and whispered,

"What accidents is he talking about?"

"In the past years there have been lots of accidents, actually. One of the worst ones was when one of our monster-training Ghasts escaped set the whole stadium on fire before somebody could kill the thing. It took days to pour water over the entire stadium, and you wouldn't believe how horrible all the teachers were that week—they had to help, so they were all really surly and stuff."

Mark looked back up at the president and started listening to him speak again.

"But first, I must establish that this year there will be some changes."

At these words, the whole mass of students erupted with whispers and murmurs. It only lasted a few seconds, and when it died down the president continued.

"Due to the recent rise of the Glitch and the mutating of landscape at nighttime, there has been a protective field set over the whole of our precious mushroom island, so I must say that no one is allowed outside of the perimeter of the island, and this is for their own safety. This means that boating, diving, and swimming in the open ocean will be prohibited, and only fishing will be allowed among the water-oriented activities."

This caused an uproar of groans from all the students, but the president quickly quieted them down so he could continue.

"Although, ALL other activities will be going as scheduled!" this time, clapping erupted from the crowd. "So, it is my privilege to announce that I, Joseph Moses Camera, President of Diamond University, will be hosting most or all of the festivities!"

Mark felt an itch in his brain when he heard that name. Then he remembered his dad once talking about a psychedelic friend he had when he was a teenager named Joe Camera, and Mark laughed a bit when he looked back at President Camera. He certainly didn't look psychedelic. That was for sure. He looked so, well, important. President Camera continued on by listing all the events that would occur during Blockbusting Week. The first day—which was that day—they'd be having a day-long Sports Bash involving several sports that Mark loved, only they were being replaced with other words to make wordplay. These included Baseblock, Footblock, Basketblock, Volleyblock, Blockminton, and Bloccer. Mark couldn't help but laugh at all of them.

After breakfast ended Mark, Adrian and Josh headed outside to start a game of Basketblock. As they walked out the doors, Mark saw somebody running towards them from the corner of his eye. He groaned as he looked towards the person, because it was Astrid again. She stopped in front of the three of them, blocking their path, and then said,

"So, how about telling me those plans of yours?"

Mark walked right past her, taking his friends with him.

"I already said NO."

Astrid didn't follow them, thankfully, so they were able to talk in peace as they made their way into the massive sports stadium. Mark was pretty amazed, actually. It was the same size as a football field, and overall it really did look like one. There were banners, screens, goal posts, and yard lines in the grass. The entire stadium was full of students, too. Mark, Adrian and Josh quickly located a small wood-paneled area with two hoops by the edge of the stadium.

Mark got used to bouncing a basketblock (a basketball in the shape of a block rather than a ball) fairly quickly, and he was scoring so much that Adrian and Josh could hardly keep up with him. He was both tall and naturally gifted in sports, so those were probably main factors. After a few more games they moved on to tennis (there was obviously no way to put that into wordplay). As soon as Mark had a racquet he moved onto one half of the tennis court and waited for Adrian and Josh to get onto the other with their racquets.

"Alright, tennis!"

Mark jumped and looked to his left. Astrid was there. She was wearing an over-the-top tennis getup complete with a blindingly green sweatband—Mark had a difficult time looking at her. She was jumping all over, pretending to be pumped for the game. She looked over at Mark, clapped her hands together and then held her racquet to her side.

"C'mon! Let's go! Let's do some tennis!"

While she was jumping from side to side doing practice swings, Mark just glared at her and muttered,

"You're still here?"

"Yep! What a coincidence that you and I are on the same half of the court! You'll be my tennis partner, and while we're playing maybe you can tell me about those plans!"

Mark was about to tell her to go away when Josh called out from the other end of the court.

"Hey, Mark! Serve the ball, already!"

Mark grudgingly played a game of tennis with Astrid and her stupid sweatband, but then immediately avoided her and steered his friends over to where the footballs were being tossed around. As they sped across the field Mark looked behind him several times to check that Astrid wasn't still following him. Then they joined a group of twenty other graduating guys and started throwing the old pigskin around.

Mark threw the footblock to Adrian, then the ball went to the bladder-kid Jack, then back to him, to Josh, to another kid, to another, to another, to another—

"Hey, Mark!"

Mark turned his head for a split second and saw Astrid running towards him. He quickly avoided her gaze and turned his attention back to the game, but was immediately smacked in the nose by a footblock.

* * *

When Mark sat back up, there were people standing over him. He could feel something warm and wet sticking to his face, too. It must've been blood, because a moment later he looked down and saw a footblock sitting in his lap. And when he looked up, hoping that he wouldn't see that one person, he saw them anyway. Astrid was directly in front of him, and she looped her arm around his, pulling him up and trying to rush him down the field.

"I'll take him to the nurse!" she shouted in a fake sympathetic voice.

Mark quick looked at his hotbar and was deeply disappointed to find no porkchops or anything to heal him. Within the next few minutes to come Mark was already back in the infirmary he had been so eager to get out of. When the nurse saw him she just handed him a chicken leg, and as soon as he ate it his nose stopped bleeding, and he wiped his face with a wet sponge.

"So, now that we're pretty much alone, how about just telling me about those plans? I'd LOVE to help!"

Mark glared over at her and set the sponge down on a tray the nurse was holding.

"And I'd LOVE it if you'd just shut up about the plans! They are CONFIDENTIAL! Know what that means?"

He didn't stick around to hear her answer. He just sped out of the infirmary into the hallway, eager to get back to the field with all the other guys. In another few minutes he finally set foot in the neatly-kept grass. He joined back in with the guys and threw the footblock around some more. And then, just as time was flying by, lunchtime came again and they all headed back into Diamond University for some grub.

Mark sat down at a table with Adrian, Josh, Barry and Jack, and they talked through the entire meal despite their mouths being stuffed with victuals. After lunch they headed back outside to play some Blockminton. As Mark walked onto the field he heard a familiar voice come from his right.

"Yeah, that's really what happened... I feel so embarrassed!"

When Mark turned his head and looked up he felt his stomach drop. Sitting above him was Kelsey, and she was surrounded by a group of new friends. She was crying, of course, and the rest of the girls were hugging her or patting her back or braiding her hair. Or all three. Mark could tell that she was talking about the scene with him and Raven. A sassy-looking African American girl to Kelsey's left shook her head, her triangle of curly hair bouncing all over the place.

"Mmmhmm, you sound like ONE lovesick puppy, girl!"

Kelsey turned to look at her with reddened eyes and said,

"Janice, I'm not lovesick! I'm just... I'm just plain sick."

The girl sitting behind Kelsey grabbed her shoulder and said,

"Maybe Janice is right. You're lovesick for that boy!"

Kelsey shook her hand off quickly.

"I'm not—"

But she got interrupted by the last girl that sat in front of her, who looked her straight in the eye and said,

"I agree with Janice and Maggie; you're lovesick with Mark. But what YOU need to do is stop hanging onto that guy. He's bad for you!"

Mark could feel his face turn red with anger. He wasn't a bad person! He loved Kelsey more than anybody else in the world, whether that be on Earth or in the world of Minecraft! He wished more than anything to be able to have Kelsey forgive him and understand what really happened. Suddenly, somebody tapped his shoulder and he snapped back into reality.

"Mark. Mark! Hello, Earth to Mark!"

He turned around and saw Josh standing there with Adrian. Mark froze for a moment, took one last glance up at the stands where Kelsey and her huddle of friends sat, but then shook his darkened thoughts from his mind. As they were walking out onto the grass, Mark heard the girls' whispers become louder.

"Hey, look! Isn't that him?"

"Yeah... Oh, why does he have to be so handsome...?"

"Girl, you ignore that piece of garbage, you know you deserve better!"

Mark sped down the field in a state of absolute rage. He was NOT a piece of garbage! Mark spent the rest of the afternoon in a bad mood, and time passed quickly on the field. Before he knew it he was already walking with Adrian, Josh, Barry and Jack back to the building.

They ate dinner with the rest of the students—a delicious meal of well-prepared lasagna for Mark—and then headed back up to their dorms. Unfortunately, President Camera made another disappointing announcement towards the end of the meal.

"I must let you all know that no student is permitted to wander outside of campus after 9:00 unless supervised by a staff member due to the mutating landscape."

This got an even louder and more angry reaction than his first one that he gave earlier. It took another minute for him to get everyone to shut up, and when he did he looked very flustered.

"All these precautions are to keep you safe, and what I cannot have is a student who is injured or killed!" At those words everyone fell completely silent, even the whispers becoming diminished. "So, after dinner you are all to stay inside for the rest of the night. You may wander freely throughout the building, but I deeply discourage anyone leaving the building. That will be all."

Mark turned back to face his group of friends. Jack groaned and rested his chin in his hands.

"Man, I was really looking forward to being out at night with all the girls..."

This got a laugh out of everybody. Barry slapped Jack on the back with a huge hand and said,

"Jack, you flirt you!"

Jack pushed the hand off him with a look of annoyance, but as everybody continued to laugh he couldn't help but join in. After dinner they headed back up to their dorms, but instead of going to bed somebody ended up starting an orange-throwing war. Mark had been caught off guard, because one zoomed past his ear as he was walking into the hallway. Halfway during the fight one hit Barry right in the family jewels, and he let out a little unmanly choking noise. Everybody just froze. Then Adrian came out of his room with his banjo and started playing it, singing made-up lyrics to the song "I'm Yours".

_"Well Barry was fighting with a grapefruit,_

_But then he cried out just like a broken flute._

_An orange hit him in the nuts..._

_And now he's coughing up his guuuuuts..."_

At that point Barry chased after Adrian, who managed to keep plinking away at his banjo as he ran away. It was a very eventful night, that was for sure. When Mark went to bed finally at 12:30 he still could hardly sleep. Part of it was excitement for the upcoming week, but the other factor was the horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach that was because of his thoughts about Kelsey. When he thought of Kelsey he thought about that horrible kiss with Raven, and when he thought about THAT his thoughts drifted to Lucas. A bitter taste came to his mouth as Lucas's grinning face swam into view under his closed eyelids. Unfortunately, that was the last thing he remembered seeing before he drifted into sleep.

* * *

It always seemed like a curse that was upon Mark, because that night he had ANOTHER horrible dream.

The beginning of the dream was great, actually. In the dream, Mark was lying on the ground next to Kelsey, cuddling next to her to share her warmth. They were just together for the blissful sleepy happiness they wanted, and there was nothing to disturb them. Mark remembered kissing her a couple times, but he was also half-asleep, so all he remembered was bits and pieces, though even that was enough to satisfy him.

But then later he felt a hand being placed on his shoulder, and when he looked up he saw Raven standing over him with a mischievous grin on her face. Before he could do anything he was hoisted to his feet, and Raven pulled him into a kiss. At first, Mark wanted to get away from her, but then he realized HE was enjoying it. Her usually chilly skin was very warm against his, and he was feeling a hot pleasure still running through him as he pressed herself against him. In fact, he could stay like that for a while...

But then Kelsey came in and pulled him back, and they kissed. A cool feeling spread over him instead, much different from the hot one he'd gotten with Raven. This sensation was equally pleasant, just a bit different. He stayed in the sleepy, peaceful silence kissing with Kelsey for only a moment, but then Raven wrenched him by the arm back to her.

The next thing he knew, Mark was dancing intensely with Raven, a sexy tune playing in the background that he couldn't identify. Her body moved with his, and he actually was enjoying the heat that was cast over him as he swung back and forth with Raven, his senses maximized and his breathing heavy. His palms were sweating along with the rest of him; he was dizzy too, and for some reason the heat was becoming so addicting to him that he could only dance with Raven faster, their bodies darting this way and that with their hands clasped tightly together.

And then Kelsey pulled him back once again and put her hands in his, and that cool feeling swept over him, making him a little sleepy again. Mark put one hand with hers to the side and then the other on her waist, and the next thing he knew he was dancing with Kelsey. This was the opposite of what he'd experienced, for this atmosphere was so quiet and full of blissful love as they slow-danced to a calming tune. They swayed back and forth like palm trees, swaying in tune with the musical wind that was drifting past, her slow and steady heartbeat echoing with his. Feeling like he was melting away, Mark observed Kelsey's absolute beauty—those eyes really did make him want to fall asleep with her in silence...

But then Raven grabbed his hand again, ready to dance even harder than before and drown Mark in her heat, but Kelsey held tight onto his other hand, pulling in the opposite direction. Mark strained between the two girls, one half of him dizzy with heat, the other immersed in cooling, calming paradise. But right there when he had to choose between the hot and the cold, his whole body just felt like it would rip in half, and he couldn't bring himself to do it...

* * *

Mark awoke feeling both extremely hot and cold, just like he had in the dream. Not only that, but he felt bile leaping into his throat and tears leaping into his eyes. He leapt from bed and clambered over to the garbage bin in the corner of the room, throwing up in it, spilling bile down his front. Then the tears came, and as Mark's cheeks were wetting with the salty little drops he was approached by Josh.

"Dude, are you ok?!"

Mark's retching continued, and once all the bile had gone from his throat and he had soaked his cheeks with his own tears, he stood up, threw off his soiled no-longer-white T-shirt and put on a new one. He whirled around and faced Josh, and yelled at the top of his lungs,

"I JUST CAN'T DO IT! I CAN'T DO IT, GODDANGIT!"

Josh jumped back onto his bed with a look of pure terror.

"I HAVE TO PICK BETWEEN THEM! I DO, BUT I CAN'T DO IT! I WANT THEM BOTH!" Mark leaned up against the wall and stared at the ground, his throat closing up. "OH GOD! OH GOD, I DON'T WANT TO DO THIS, I JUST CAN'T!"

Josh was still frozen in fear on the bed. Mark marched towards the door to his dorm room and slammed it into the wall as it open, knocking it off its hinges. The door fell down and smashed on his foot, and Mark screamed out in both rage and pain and crumpled to the ground in a crumbly, pathetic mess. He didn't hear the entire swarm of alerted-looking students that starting streaming into the hallway to see what the commotion was. Mark just clutched his head, trying hard to stop the incessant pounding that was blasting his head with pain. It was bad enough where he forgot that his foot was being crushed by the door.

Mark couldn't remember where he was for a moment, but then the pounding in his head slowed down, and he opened his eyes to see people trying to get him off the ground. Immediately Mark slapped the first person he saw in the jaw to get rid of a measly portion of the anger that was spilling into him. Mark wrenched his foot free of the weight of the door and got to his feet, stumbling down the hall half-blind, the tears still fresh in his eyes. He made his way down several stairways and down a lot of hallways, not sure of where he was going but not caring.

Then, after what seemed like an eternity of walking, Mark stepped out of another door and felt a rush of cold air hit him. He inferred that he was outside and that it was VERY late, but that didn't stop him from moving. He felt plants squish beneath his feet as he walked forward. Without warning, he felt his leg unexpectedly hit something wooden and he toppled forward, falling a great deal until he splashed down into water. He emerged a few confusing seconds later, soaking and chilled to the bone, and floated there in the eerie silence of night. He didn't care anymore, he just didn't care. Even there, floating in the freezing moonlit water, all he could think about was the fact that he'd be breaking a girl's heart very soon, which was something he swore he would never do. He didn't want to lose someone again. Not again...

* * *

**Sniff... I'm making myself cry, darn it... Mark is in such a horrible place it makes me want to punch something... I probably will... *punches wall several times* I'm still bummed... Well, I guess I can't dwell on it, because we still have QAA to get on with.**

**To the Glitch: You have a choice. One, you can walk away and not get killed. Or two, I fire every ounce of destructive energy to destroy you. Which shall it be?**

The Glitch: _Here, let me explain what will happen here for you. If I don't walk away—really slither, but same thing—then you have Hell break loose on me. If you do that, you don't understand that I am capable of ABSORBING that. As long is anything is made of atoms I can mutate it and then consume. I am a virus, THAT'S WHAT I DO! I do not suggest you waste your energy on me if you want to live... Peasant... MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!_

**To Kelsey: There, is that a little better? Here, I'll let you go out to eat, get anything you want. I just want help in any way, shape or form.**

Kelsey: I don't know... It's just s-so weird, because I feel like Mark would actually consider l-leaving m-me f-f-for... FOR RAVEN! *continues to bawl her eyes out, but only for a few seconds* N-no, Kelsey, you're stronger than this. You d-don't need him... Yeah, that's it. You DON'T need Mark, you'll get over it and find somebody else! *talks to herself for a while*

**To the Glitch: Hey u heard of Krillen from Dragon Ball Z? Take how bad he gets pwned and times that by ten. That's still won't be near the beat down you're going to get in the end. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if someone named Krillen kicked your ass.**

The Glitch: _COME AT ME BRO! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAYOUNGPEOPLELANGUAGEHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!_

**To da Glitch: I bet you couldn't tell the rotting insides of a dead gundark from an Ithorian's butt. :P**

Da Glitch: _HOW DARE YOU! I AM THE MOST POWERFUL BLAHBLAHBLAHBLAHBLAHBLAHBLAHBLAH—_ *rambles on about how great and powerful it is as it has billions of times before*

**To the fourth wall repairman: *turns the fourth wall into a pigeon using his pigeon powers* AGOOGOOGOOGOO!**

Fourth wall repairman: *is swarmed by Cuccos * GAH! HEEEEEEEEELP!

**To the Glitch: *harnesses his dark energy to turn the Glitch into a bay!* OOOOAA! AGOOGOOGOOGOOGOOGOOOGOGOOGOGOGOO!**

The Glitch: *is caught in a swarm of Cuccos just like the fourth wall repairman* _BAH! SO MUCH POULTRY, SO LITTLE TIME!_ *eats all the Cuccos for an afternoon snack, freeing the fourth wall repairman of the feather torrent*

**To Norman: Sorry.**

Norman: I forgive you, but I STILL need to find those kids!

**To Everyone: I GOT THE MCDONALDS MOD! LET'S GO TO THE MCDONALDS DIMENSION!**

Everyone except the Glitch: YAY, MCDONALDS!

The Glitch: *Grumpy Cat face* _No._

**Well, for next time, how will Mark bring himself to choose between two girls when he knows he will have to break one of their hearts? Will somebody find him floating in that freezing ocean or will he just be lost in the current? Will Lucas ever get the horrible beat down he deserves?! (He'd better. -_-) ****Find out next chapter in VOiD! But for now, this is Pastrinator64, and I'll see you later with chapter numbah twenty-two!**

***throws sugar bomb, disappears in a cloud of fine white sugar***

**Byyyyyeeeeee...**

**~Pastrinator64 [~]**


	22. Chapter 22: I Have A Dream

**Hello, this is Pastrinator64 with another chapter from VOiD. Well, school's going well so far, but I know that the workload will only increase from here, and my chapters are already becoming more spaced-out than usual, so that means I'll just need you guys to stay patient on a few occasions.**

**But, on a better note, I will be having some COVER ART for The Glitch being done. My very good friend SonicTheHedgehog-Nerd (who is actually one of my best friends from school) is the most excellent artist I know, and she will be creating cover art for The Glitch. The cover will include all the main characters, and she'll be doing it purely off of my descriptions, which is a skill that I highly admire. I don't know exactly how long it will take, but when it IS finished I will be posting it on Facebook probably—since my 'rents are so protective that they don't believe DeviantArt is a "clean" enough website for me—and I will supply the link to the photo. Just a heads-up, people! :D**

**Anyway, let's get on with replies to reviews!**

Replies To Reviews...

**Volcanic the hedgehog: **I just LOVE that comparison! :DDD

**BfheadGamer: **Awesome, so we're in the same grade! What's your school like?

**CSICreeper: **But of course, my dear Watson. X3

**Dirt BlockZ: **Not really, no. He's just having a hard time choosing because he doesn't want to resort to breaking either of their hearts. He hates hurting girls more than anything else, actually.

**Nwinds: **1. Yes, that's exactly it. Or at least that's what I think. 2. No, I've honestly never seen a guy at my school that cares so much about girls that he doesn't want to break either of their hearts. 3. Listen, I'm really trying to slow my ideas down and put them into the story at a calmer pace, but I'm having trouble. THANK YOU for addressing the problem, because I know it needs to be dealt with, and I am currently trying to fix it. :) 4. (will be answered by Mark as a character question)

**spark n' jetz: **Oh man, you have no idea how much that comment made my day, man. :D But could you explain about the cheesy quest summary thing? First, what are you talking about, and second, what is cheesy about it? I'm not accusing you; I actually just want to know what you mean so I can fix it.

**Alright, now that we've gone and finished that, let's get on with the story!**

**Hello, this is Pastrinator64 with another chapter from VOiD. Last time on VOiD we watched as Mark experienced the first day of Blockbusting Week, where he spent most of his time playing wordplay-bombed sports in the university's stadium. Unfortunately, while he was there he heard much talk from Kelsey and her new group of friends about him supposedly being a piece of garbage, and now the prospect of Kelsey moving on haunts Mark. Also, Astrid still didn't let up and was following Mark everywhere, even going to the extent of landing him in the infirmary with a bad nosebleed.**

**Thankfully, he still had a ton of fun later that night when an orange fight broke out amongst the boys—although it ended abruptly with Barry getting nailed in the family jewels. After listening to Adrian's hilarious improvisational banjo tune with Barry as the star, Mark finally went to bed around midnight or so. But, that night his fears and worries creeped back up on him and he had more horrible dreams, the worst he'd had in a long, LONG time. These dreams made him tear himself between Kelsey and Raven, ending in him storming right out of the university and falling off campus into the freezing water of the ocean. Now we watch as Mark goes through a series of dreams during his unconscious state—two good, one bad—and then wakes up to find himself in what seems like a real-life nightmare.**

**Now, let the story commence!**

* * *

_Chapter 22: I Have A Dream_

Mark squeezed his eyes shut immediately as a blinding white light appeared. He was lying down on the ground, no longer in the water, but for some reason he felt as though he were also floating. Mark slowly opened his eyes, letting them become accustomed to the brightness. Finally, after a whole minute and a half Mark was able to keep his eyes open. He sat up and looked around, and was frightened to see that there was NOTHING around him. He just sat in an infinite whiteness. Plus, the song "Rhythm Of Love" by Plain White T's was playing from somewhere unknown.

Standing up Mark stretched, cracking his back and neck to relieve stress. He could remember falling into an ocean of freezing water just a moment ago, but now he was floating around in infinite whiteness, an area of pure light. For some reason he felt as though he'd been there before, but he couldn't quite recall when that would have been.

_"Markus Cobweb."_

He jumped and turned around. Floating there before him was some type of spirit. It seemed to be made of swirling silver fumes, which formed a body, ghostly wings and a tail that flowed out from the bottom.

_"I have been trying to contact you for a long time, Markus."_

Mark's immediate instinct made him clench his fists. He looked down to grab his diamond sword, but his hotbar was suddenly empty. Then he realized that his Blockpack was gone, too.

_"I am no enemy. I am Farixz the First, the elder of the Spirits In Between."_

Mark got a sudden itch in his brain. He'd heard that name before.

"Wait, so you're one of those spirits? Then... You created all the dimensions, right?"

_"Well, yes, but with the help of Serisdo the Second, Thorvon the Third, Froace the Fourth, Firzon the Fifth and Sycallion the Sixth."_

Mark raised an eyebrow and muttered,

"I thought there were only three of you."

Farixz shook his ghostly head and murmured,

_"Yes, but that is a story for another time."_ he flew closer to Mark and continued. _"I have summoned you into a dream so that we may talk in private."_

Mark groaned and grasped his own hair, tugging at it painfully. He was CONSTANTLY having dreams that made no sense or just bugged him, and now he was probably just in another one. He pounded his head, muttering to himself to wake up, but all that happened was him getting a headache.

_"I'm here to talk to you about those two girls."_

Mark immediately stopped pounding his head. He turned around slowly and said,

"Can you just fix this all?"

Farixz shook his transparent head.

_"No, that would require bending the rules of time and space itself, which I am too weak to do at the moment. It costs me a great deal of energy just to come into your mind and talk, so I cannot even stay long here. Anyway, what I can do is help you fix your problems, because once your mind is clear of these dilemmas you will be able to get on with your quest, otherwise the possible results could be dangerous."_

Mark shook his head a bit to clear things up.

"Wait, dangerous what? What the heck are you even talking about?!" he still had quite a lot of steam from thinking about Kelsey and Raven.

A silvery wing was placed on Mark's shoulder as Farixz spoke again.

_"If you do not solve these unresolved issues then your future decisions during your quest could turn out for the worst. I must send you back into life with a cleared mind, and if that means talking to you about Kelsey and Raven then I can make an exception."_

Farixz hovered next to Mark and sat down, letting his ghost-tail lay out to the side. He took Mark down to the ground as well so that they were sitting side by side.

_"Mark, let me tell you of my own youth. When my soul was young and I still remained in a mortal body, I had similar problems. You see, I was in a relationship with a girl... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... Her and I were very... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... But then there was another... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... And then... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... So I... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ..._

* * *

An hour later Mark was sleeping; Farixz rambled on tediously, not even pausing for a moment.

_"... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...And so that is why I shall never go with a nun into a coffee shop ever again."_

Farixz looked down at Mark, who was face-down on the white floor. He slapped Mark's back with a wing and he jerked awake, sitting back up quickly.

"Were you listening?!" declared Farixz with a tone of annoyance.

Mark nodded nervously, not wanting to anger the one of the most powerful individuals in existence. Farixz sighed and looked off into the infinitely white distance.

_"Oh, well, alright then. The point is, just think about which of the two will be healthier for you. Do you honestly think that Raven is half the woman that Kelsey is? Besides, you have known Kelsey much, much longer, and you have such a strong relationship—well, you did, but your thoughts have been getting in the way of your heart's cries."_

Mark groaned and lay back down on his side.

"Yeah, I know. I'll be honest; I just want to be back with Kelsey, not with Raven. What I don't want to do is break Raven's heart. She may be the creepiest Goth I've ever met, but she's still a girl, and I care about her. You say you've been watching me, huh? Well, do you recall that time when her and I were stuck in the spider webs down in that cave? When I saw Raven start to bawl her eyes out when the gigantic spider came up, you know what I wanted to do? I wanted to just run over there and hug her. Yeah, I can't STAND seeing girls cry, and it doesn't matter who it is, I still get a horrible feeling in my stomach when I see a girl cry." he explained.

Tears were trying to force their way into the corners of Mark's eyes but he resisted, swallowing hard to keep them down. He felt Farixz's wing rest on his shoulder again, and then Farixz spoke softly to him.

_"Mark, you must break the news to Raven as compassionately as you can. That is the only way you can get what you want—being back with Kelsey, your true love, and getting the weight of guilt off of your shoulders. Just choose knowledgeably and everything will piece together as it should. I'm leaving now, my strength dwindles as we speak."_

Then the wing retracted, and a sudden rushing down was heard, and Mark sat up quickly.

"Wait!"

But Farixz was already gone.

* * *

BAM! Mark immediately opened his eyes, expecting to be back in reality floating in the cold water, but he was still dry. Mark was lying down in a patch of fresh grass. He sat up, looking around at his new surroundings. There were trees all around him, but they looked slightly different. Suddenly, he heard an oink behind him and he whirled around.

Standing there was a pig with luscious golden wings. Mark's thoughts immediately went to work, and in a matter of seconds he realized he was in the Aether. This time, "Lucky" by Jason Mraz was playing in the air.

"I see that you're awake."

Mark jumped again, turning around and expecting to see Farixz. But instead of Farixz, Notch stood before him wearing something like a skirt made of leaves. Mark was about to start laughing, but then remembered that Notch could zap him and turn him into a squid if he wanted—he was a Minecraftian god after all.

"Yes, yes, go ahead and laugh."

Mark didn't hesitate after that, and he just burst out laughing, putting a hand to his forehead and shaking it.

"Man, what happened to YOU?"

Notch grumbled something under his breath.

"It is none of your business. Anyway, I'm not here to talk about my appearance. I'm here to talk about you."

Mark stifled his laughs so that he could hear what Notch was saying, although this proved to be difficult. Notch walked over to Mark and sat down next to him just as Farixz had.

"Mark, I know that you are in a state of grief right now..."

"Wait, are you gonna talk to me about girls? If you are, then don't bother, cuz I just got visited by Farixz the First in a dream about a minute ago."

Notch raised both his eyebrows in surprise.

"Ah, so you've been spoken to about the matter. Good, good. But no, I was not going to talk to you about that. I just wanted to address the fact that you believe everything in the world shall go wrong and end with the Glitch. I want to fix those thoughts of yours towards a more brightly-lit outcome."

Mark looked up at Notch for a moment in confusion.

"What?" he said, totally clueless.

Notch leaned backward, supporting himself by the elbows on the ground.

"I just wanted to come and talk to you about how lucky you are."

Mark could still hear "Lucky" playing in the background and rolled his eyes. Would every dream he ever had again somehow be themed by music? At the same time, Mark just grunted and said,

"Ha, yeah. Lucky isn't the best word, Notch."

"Mark, you don't know what you are talking about."

Mark stood up angrily and started pacing the floor.

"Yes, I think I do! Does this sound like luck to you?" he said, and he started listing things off the top of his head. "I got transported into Minecraft with my sister, my mom and dad are probably sick with anxiety, and it turns out that I'm the supposed hero of this prophecy called the Divination Of Dimensions, something that I haven't ever even read! I finally find my old girlfriend again, but then things happened with Lucas and I end up breaking her heart, which you probably already know is something I absolutely HATE doing. Now the Goth girl loves me without me returning the affection and the real person I want back is Kelsey, but I'm having a hard decision of choosing because I don't want to break either of their hearts. So many things in my life are just being screwed up! That's not LUCKY!"

Mark steamed in his own anger for another minute while Notch fell silent, apparently thinking of the best way to address Mark. Finally, he decided and began to speak again.

"Mark, you must cease to focus on the negatives and look forward to see what greatnesses life can bring." said Notch in a very quoted voice.

Mark turned to face Notch and he muttered,

"Who said that?"

Notch shrugged.

"I just did. Hey, that's not a bad quote, is it?" he quick took out a slip of paper and wrote it down with a golden ink pen. When he was finished he rolled the paper up and thought /give paper Jeb to send it off. "Mm, sorry about that."

Mark just stared at him, unsure of what to say, so Notch continued to monologue.

"Think of all the people you've met! Mark, you could have landed in Minecraft ANYWHERE, even on a deserted island, but instead you landed near civilization. If you hadn't landed there you probably would've wandered around the entire world until it was too late and the Glitch would take over with ease. Because you luckily found yourself so close to the Void portal you were able to get a huge head start on your quest. Just by starting out that way you were able to meet new people, gain new friends, and get into your quest without being alone with only Vanessa for company. Like I said, just think of all the people you have to support you! Lucas, Gabe, Adrian, Raven, Kelsey! And Rexum, too!"

Mark gave a harsh laugh and rolled his eyes up to the sky.

"Ha, yeah right. Kelsey hates me now, and I don't even LIKE Raven and her crazy love-spikes."

"Well, like I said before, I'm not going to dictate your choices in the means of choosing a girl; it's none of my business. I just want you to focus on all the luck you've had. Think POSITIVE, Mark. Do you really want to go throughout the rest of your quest in a state of despair? I know I would not. I'd keep myself focuses on the great things and life and just, well, keep moving forward..."

Mark sighed heavily. He still had another question, so he looked back up at Notch... But now Notch was gone. Yep, he just vanished, blew away with the wind for all Mark knew.

"Why do they always disappear in my dreams like that?" muttered Mark, resting his chin in his hand.

* * *

The next dream that Mark had was a lot less morally supported. Mark entered the dream expecting to see somebody like Rexum or something to tell him how knowledgeable he was or whatever, but instead he was paid a visit by the Glitch. He fell down into darkness for a few seconds, but then hit something that felt like frozen stone. He shakily stood up, squinting through the blackness, which was just as hard to look through and make out as the whiteness he'd experienced before.

Suddenly, he heard the Glitch cackle from above him, and when he looked up he could see its two glowing red eyes staring back down at him. Upon instincts Mark freaked out a great deal and hurled himself away as fast as his legs could carry him. But then something very, very, VERY cold wrapped around his ankle and yanked him upward. He was suddenly reminded of the time where he got captured by the friendly plant-mutant Lalita.

He screamed as he was being lifted dup into the air by the tentacle-like limb of the Glitch. Finally he stopped, but not after going a great distance into the air. While he was hanging upside-down the Glitch's two eyes appeared again in front of him.

_"Hello."_

Mark did his best to lift his body up, and he grabbed at the black vine-thing around his ankle, but as soon as his skin made contact it gave himself something like bad frostbite, so he was forced to let go. The Glitch let out a terrible screech that nearly deafened Mark, and then laughed maniacally at Mark's horrified reaction.

_"So, how's life treating you? Making new friends? Losing old ones? Talk to me about it, maybe I can help... MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"_

The thing around his ankle loosened, and Mark fell from out of the sky with a shriek. He landed flat on his back in the darkness, knocking the air right out of his lungs. He lay motionless for a moment, but then stood up uneasily and looked around.

_"You should grab your sword."_

Mark looked down at his hotbar and... Oh, but his hotbar was still gone along with his Blockpack. Yep, he was screwed. In his state of utter panic he closed his eyes shut as tight as he could and tried to wake himself up. The Glitch must have been watching, because it screamed with evil laughter.

_"Here you go, everyone! THIS is the Ultra Hero of the Divination of Dimensions! Everybody give him a hand!"_

All of a sudden there was a blinding light in front of him that even came in through his closed eyelids, and when he opened his eyes he was no longer in the darkness, but he was standing on a small stage with about ten spotlights shining on him. Sitting in front of him were all his friends, all of them giving extremely fake smiles and clapping loudly.

"YEAH, GO MARK, YOU BACKSTABBING FRIEND!" shouted Lucas, his eyes drilling into Mark's head.

"WONDERFUL, JUST WONDERFUL! THANK YOU FOR NEVER GIVING ME A SECOND THOUGHT, KID!" shouted Gabe.

Mark's anger boiled up inside of him, and he immediately looked all around him for the Glitch so he could punch the creature in its gigantic ugly face. But then one of the comments of his friends brought him back to attention, because the next moment he heard,

"OOOOOH! LOOKING SEXY, MARK!"

It was Raven, of course, and when Mark looked over at her he saw that she was looking down. And when MARK looked down his stomach performed a swan-dive into his feet. All his clothes were gone except his boxers. Mark tried desperately to cover himself up to keep Raven from getting to excited, but for some reason his hands had gained minds of their own, because he couldn't force them back down to his body.

"THANKS FOR NEVER GIVING ME ANY BROTHERLY ADVICE!"

Mark looked up and saw that even his own sister was fake-smiling and clapping along with everyone. He squeezed his eyes shut again and thought desperately to himself,

"No, this is just a nightmare, this is just a nightmare, this is just—"

"Mark."

Mark opened his eyes and stared in front of him. His other friends were gone, and only one spotlight was on the stage. He now stood with Kelsey, both of them sharing the light with darkness surrounding them in all other directions. Mark could feel the clothes back on him again, so he was thankful for that, but still felt extremely guilty standing there with her.

"Mark," she murmured quietly, a tone of resentment in her voice. "I have realized that in the past few days your interests have been changing." Mark tried to protest immediately, but Kelsey shushed him and put a finger to his lips. "I understand your decision. I have decided that I too must move on. It's time for both of us, and you're the one who made me realize that even the strongest relationships can shift... Well, I will be leaving now. Goodbye, Mark."

Suddenly, the Glitch's gigantic black wing lurched forward and wrapped around Kelsey, but she didn't scream, she just stared with a totally blank expression at Mark, almost like she no longer had a soul. The movement of Mark's surroundings slowed, and the next moment he watched as Kelsey was swallowed by the mutated black plasma of the wing, never to be seen again.

* * *

Mark woke up in a cold sweat. He knew that he was back in reality somehow, but he didn't have a clue where he was. He knew that he wasn't in the water, because there were heavy blankets on top of him. Another strange thing was that he couldn't move his right leg, almost like it was in some kind of cast and was propped up at the foot of whatever bed he was lying on. On a worse note, he was REALLY thirsty, and just wanted to get up and find a drinking fountain.

"Hey."

Mark gave a little jump and peered around through the darkness. For some reason he thought he'd just heard Kelsey speak.

"Mark. Hey, are you okay?"

So it WAS Kelsey. Maybe he was in the infirmary and it was just the dead of night. Maybe Kelsey was actually coming to forgive him! This was great!

"Kelsey, how'd you get up here?" whispered Mark excitedly.

"I just snuck up, it's not that hard, really. Hey, do you need anything?"

PERFECT! Now he could get the drink he needed without being impolite! Mark gave a sick little cough to make it sound convincing when he said,

"Actually, my throat is a little dry, can you find a cup of water for me? Thanks."

Mark could hear Kelsey shuffling around in the darkness for a few moments. He hoped she wouldn't wake up the nurse in the next room; things would just turn out bad for her. About thirty seconds later he heard Kelsey as she approached him again.

"Thanks." he said, taking the glass from her in the dark.

After drinking the water he blindly handed her the glass, and she set it down on the stand next to him. Then she spoke again.

"Mark, I just... Well, I got worried when I heard you had fallen in the water. I had to come up and see you."

"Here, I'll turn on the lamp so I can see you." said Mark quietly, reaching next to him to find the chain on the lamp—a mod once again.

"Wait, but Mark—"

Mark pulled on the chain and it lit up just enough to illuminate everything within a few feet. Mark gasped whe he saw that not Kelsey, but RAVEN was standing in front of him. She grinned mischievously and said,

"Oops, I guess the darkness can't advocate my disguise anymore..."

Mark just stared in horror at the girl that stood before him. He'd sworn he heard Kelsey speaking.

"How did... But I... What?"

Then Mark looked over and saw that his right leg really was in a cast, and the cast stretched from below his knee to his ankle, the fabric stretched all around his foot except for his toes. Raven moved next to Mark and kneeled down there, leaning up against the mattress.

"Let's just say I'm really good at imitating people. Mark, I'm sorry; I just so wanted to come up here and check on you. I heard you fell into the water and, well, sorta fell unconscious."

Raven's smile only broadened as she leaned closer and rested her chin on Mark's chest. He wished more than anything to gain movement of both legs again, but then he realized that he couldn't move his right arm either, and felt a burning pain when he tried. Rolling up his sleeve with his left hand he saw more bandages attached to his skin.

"Stop squirming, Mark. It's just you and me, so nobody will see us."

Mark glanced back at Raven and started to get nervous. He didn't know what Raven wanted to do with him, and tried hard to force horrific images from his mind as they were flowing in. Suddenly, without any reason, Raven's eyes lit up as though she realized something and she reached into her sweatshirt pocket.

"Oh, and I found this cool centipede thing—must be a mod—and I wanted to show you." she pulled a gigantic centipede out of the pocket and set it on the mattress, making Mark let out a little noise as he resisted his casts to rip himself from the bed. "You know us Goths, we like creepy stuff. It's just spiders I don't like. I thought this one was cool, don't you do too?"

Then the centipede climbed its way up onto Mark's chest, and at that moment he jerked so bad that both the centipede and he were hurled off the bed, smashing into the ground painfully. He let out a shout of pain; the burn was spreading through his entire body. The centipede had landed in the next bed, and within moments a little girl was screaming at the top of her lungs. In all the commotion, Nurse Brewingstand rushed out of her bedroom that was next to the infirmary and tried to calm things down. As Mark was being helped by the nurse back into his bed he glanced around the room. Either his reddening vision was just faulty or Raven had fled the scene, because the Goth girl was nowhere to be seen.

It took another half hour before everyone finally got to bed. But Mark stayed up late that night in a mixed state of both fear and anger. For one, he was afraid that a centipede would fall on his face from out of nowhere or crawl in his ear or something creepy like that. Secondly, he was just angry at Lucas. As he thought about all of the horrible events that had happened recently he realized that they ALL could be traced back to Lucas. Lucas was the devil. Lucas was pure evil. Lucas deserved a kick in the face, he did.

Mark made his final decision that night. As soon as he woke up the next morning he'd be finding Astrid. He'd need all the help he could get if he were to punish Lucas properly for all he'd done.

* * *

**Oh yes! Time for payback! I can't wait to write the next chapter! :D Anyway, let's get on with some more QAA.**

**To The Glitch: Peasant? I am no PEASANT! I am a warrior, *background suddenly changes to battle scene* and...This! Is! SPARTA! *fires most powerful move he could* Light will always defeat dark!**

The Glitch: *counters the move with an even MORE powerful blast, though Volcanic resists the Dark power and fights on* _You shall never win! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!_

**To Mark: Do you need some advice? First of all, you've known Kelsey much longer than Raven, and you've already lost her once, don't lose her again. And don't let those girls talk about you like that, they're just gossipers. Second, for your Lucas problem, you've got to-as Si Robertson would say—"Sting like a Butterfly, and punch like a Flea!". Good luck.**

Mark: Alright, I've made my decision. I am gonna make Lucas pay SO BAD that his grandkids will feel the grief that he'll be experiencing when I'm through with him! *cracks knuckles* I'm ready.

**To the Glitch: Sorry, but I'm not going to be the one coming at you. Fate is. When you're able to beat that let me know, k?**

The Glitch: *is extremely baffled and struggles to come up with an answer, but finally does* _Well, I am very confident that Fate is on MY side for once! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!_

**To the Glitch: Why are you so ugly? Can you shapeshift to become more... Appealing? You remind me of a neo-Nazi bro... Just sad...**

The Glitch: _Yes, I can shapeshift into whatever I want as long as I already absorbed it! So, next time I eat a neo-Nazi we can talk!_ *grunts and slithers away*

**To Mark: You have a strange love life; a girl that you blame yourself for her death, *takes deep breath* and a gothic person that you don't know. add to the mix your dreams, *whistles*. and really, you have to make a big scene in front of everyone?**

Mark: Hey, maybe if you were in as bad of a situation as me you'd understand! *sighs angrily*

**To Salutem: You are awesome! Why don't you appear in more chapters? **

Salutem: Oh, you believe it. I am in far more chapters than you think, kid.

To Gabe: Do yourself a favor and get a girl.

Gabe: I am not sure, for I have never found a fair maiden that is as elegant as I hope for. Only once did I get a girl, but that was a LONG time ago. *rambles on about his life*

To Norman and Lizzy: Same with Salutem. Appear more! Plus, try harder to find Mark and Vanessa! They have some rather interesting relationships and powers...

Norman: Powers? *excited* Really? What kind?

Lizzy: RELATIONSHIPS?! NO! I WANT TO BE THERE AND TALK TO THEM FIRST!

**Well then! For next time, what kind of hard punishment will Lucas be receiving from Mark and company? Will it be enough for Mark to finally forgive Lucas for what he's done? And how will Mark be able to break it to Raven that he wants to be with Kelsey, and how will he break it to Kelsey that he really does love her? Will either of the talks go well at all?! Find out next chapter in VOiD! ****Find out next chapter in VOiD! But for now, this is Pastrinator64, and I'll see you later with chapter numbah twenty-three!**

***throws sugar bomb, disappears in a cloud of fine white sugar***

**Byyyyyeeeeee...**

**~Pastrinator64 [~]**


	23. Chapter 23: Recruitment

**Hello, this is Pastrinator64 with another long-awaited chapter from VOiD. Sorry about the long wait. What with schoolwork during the weekdays and my, er, minor obsession over playing Paper Mario Sticker Star, I haven't gotten much time to write. But I'm here again, so that's all that matters! :D Anyway, how about some replies to reviews?**

Replies To Reviews...

**BfheadGamer: **Ohhhh yeah... I can't wait for the payback to begin! :)

**CSICreeper: **Give that man a cookie! *gives you a cookie*

**Volcanic the hedgehog: **I recognize the Pirates of the Caribbean reference, but not the other one.

**LikeaBoss: {**Ah yes, thank you.}

**lightsaber36: **Funny, we haven't actually had my birthday party yet. It has to be in October because of scheduling issues, and that's, well, a whole month after my actual birthday. Oh well, I guess I have something to look forward to, then.

**Enderdude: **Sorry, I've been really busy with stuff, so writing chapters is less and less frequent for me.

**Nwinds: **1. Why, thank you! 2. I try, but sometimes I can only get in one chapter per week. This week is one of those times. 3. (answered in QAA)

**Well then, let's get on with the next chap, shall we?**

**Hello, this is Pastrinator64 with another chapter from VOiD. Last time on VOiD we got a peek into three of Mark's most vivid dreams ever. In his first dream, Mark was visited by Farixz the First, the elder of the Spirits In Between, and was talked to about what to do with his problem involving Kelsey and Raven. Moments after the dream ended, another followed and he found himself with Notch instead. Notch talked to him about how lucky he was to be in the spot he was for the situation. Although, the third dream must have been foreseen by the Glitch, because it invaded his sleep and tormented Mark with his own friends. When Mark awoke with a start, he realized again that Lucas was to blame for all of this, so he made up his mind and payed a visit to Astrid. Mark woke up in the infirmary rather than floating in the freezing ocean, two of his limbs up in casts. He was payed a visit by Kelsey, who turned out to be Raven just disguising her voice, and after some close contact with a massive centipede, Mark made his final decision. Now we watch as he enlists help from ANYONE who's willing to listen.**

**Now, let the story commence!**

* * *

_Chapter 23: Recruitment_

The next morning, Mark woke up to find that the nurse had already healed his right leg and arm. Now that he had regained control of all his limbs, Mark jumped up from bed and quickly got dressed into normal clothes. He looked to his left to see that Gabe was no longer in the bed nearby, so he must have healed. But Rexum was still looking pale and weak, so he'd take another few days to heal up properly.

Mark rushed out of the infirmary as quickly as possible and navigated his way down the many hallways inside Diamond University. About two minutes later he found himself in the girls' hallway, which was exactly where he wanted to be. He quickly scanned each of the doors, looking at each of the signs with the students' names that were put up against the wood, and then he found the right room.

He knocked on the door three times over before someone came to the door. It was Astrid. She hardly looked tired at all, so Mark knew he wasn't interrupting her sleep...

"Astrid, close the door!" grumbled Astrid's roommate.

Astrid looked back at her and said harshly,

"Shut up, Vicky. I know this guy."

She turned back and said to Mark,

"This is about..." she looked back at Vicky, but she was sleeping and could care less about what they were talking about, so Astrid turned back to Mark. "The plans?" she guessed, a grin spread across her face.

Mark grinned as well, and then he nodded.

"Yep, and I want you to help. But first, let me actually tell you what this guy did to me..."

By the end of Mark's three minute-long explanation of all the horrible crimes Lucas ever committed, Astrid's eyes were wide with sheer shock.

"Wow!" she muttered in a very dumbfounded tone. "This is kid like the Devil!" she slammed her fist into her open palm as though smashing an invisible bug. "Let's beat him up!"

Mark slapped his forehead and said,

"No, NO beating up! The purpose of this whole plan isn't to break his arms, Astrid, no matter HOW appealing that may be to you. What I want to do is make him feel so humiliated that he wets his pants!" declared Mark, a smile stretched across his face.

Astrid nodded and said,

"Great! We're going to need to group together the best group of mischievous guys and girls in the school."

Mark just shook his head at the idea.

"How are we going to do that without attracting attention from Lucas? It's not like we can just walk from person to person, that'd look so lame. What other ways are there to get the message to people?"

Suddenly, for the first time in a little while, Astrid's roommate Vicky spoke from her bed.

"I have an idea..."

* * *

"Perfect! I'm glad you could help, Jack."

They had delivered the flyers within minutes thanks to Jack and his hacker skills. Jack was another ex-Earthling, so he used to live in the real world too, but now it was just his soul in Minecraft. Back home it turned out that Jack was actually a hacker—not the illegal kind, just one who hacks into games and stuff—and he was able to hack his way through the administrative barriers and /give everyone in the school except Lucas a flyer about their group. Meanwhile, everybody was slapping Jack on the back; the shrimpy little man couldn't stop grinning.

It was already the second day of Blockbusting Week, and they would need a lot of time and brainpower to set up their plan for Lucas before the week ended. So what they decided was to set the meeting for all participants to take place in stair in the right stairwell of where the boys' and girls' hallways were connected that night at 11:00. That would be when all the camp councilors would be in bed, so they wouldn't be bothered.

That day they'd be holding a monster-fighting tournament for all the students to watch. After having another delicious breakfast, Mark headed out with his group of friends towards the stadium early to get front-row seats. Mark was still in awe of how huge the stadium was, and as he walked down the cobblestone steps he pondered about how long it took the admin and his staff to make the whole thing.

He sat down in the very front with his friends and they slid back in their seats, watching the streaming students that came from the entrances. In about a half hour of conversing and watching people file in, the entire stadium was full to bursting with students. Suddenly, an announcer's voice blasted through the stadium.

"Good morning, students of Diamond University, both graduates and non-graduates! Today we will be hosting a mob-fighting tournament for you all to watch. As requested, the staff members will be walking out into the field to fight. I will now pick randomly to decide which teacher will go up against which monster. Let's see now..." the stadium waited in baited breath as the announcer—Mark was told that it was the Chief Of Organization in Sports and Games, Ulysses Monsterspawner—was taking his pick.

A few seconds later the stadium burst with cheers as Ulysses announced that the agricultural teacher Professor Arren Pumpkin would be facing a silverfish, and this got a huge laugh out of everybody in the stadium. When Mark looked around at his friends who were also laughing he realized that he was missing out on some big inside joke of some sort, and it bugged him.

"Er, Barry, why's everybody laughing?"

Barry smiled slapped him roughly on his shoulder.

"Oh yeah, you're from Earth, aren't you? Well, when Arren took the tests on Blockbusting Day he had to face a silverfish, but he ran away screaming because back then he was a complete dweeb. It's a popular story here, so I'm guessing Ulysses put him in there with a silverfish on purpose."

Mark nodded slowly, and then turned his attention back to the stadium. A very large, beefy man with a coach's black and white uniform was walking out on the grass towards the center of the stadium with another person, supposedly Professor Pumpkin. The coach stopped in the center of the field and then walked back, leaving the professor standing there, smiling and waving at the crowd. Then a whistled sounded loudly and the silverfish appeared before him.

On natural instinct the silverfish jumped up to bite Professor Pumpkin, but he just placed a pumpkin there in its spot, trapping it inside the massive fruit. He lifted the pumpkin into the air with both hands and smiled again to the crowd, twirling it around on his finger like it was a basketball. Cheers erupted from the stadium, and they didn't cease until Professor Pumpkin had walked back under the stands.

The festive tournament continued on throughout the evening into the afternoon, ending with winner being the geography teacher Mrs. Karen Mycelium. They had a later lunch because of the delay, and Mark was positively starving. After their late meal an announcement came over the intercom that the rest of the day was free for graduating students, which meant that they had plenty of time to brainstorm for that night when they met their new recruits.

Mark, Adrian, Josh, Barry, Jack and Astrid sat at a spare table in the corner of the cafeteria, pouring their brains out over a single scrap of paper that was their plan. As Mark was scribbling down notes and visuals he was giving them instructions.

"Alright Jack, so you're gonna need to use all the brain power you've got to hack into the administrative system so we can break into the walls and stuff for the different traps and stuff, and your codename is now Brainwave, got it?" Jack nodded, but quickly got up and left to use the bathroom again for the tenth time that meeting.

Mark pointed to Barry and Josh next.

"You two will be in charge of constructing the things we'll need to have built. Always work after 11:00, and be sure to watch out for the patrol officers that walk around the halls at night, okay? Josh, you're Megaman, and Barry, you're Machoman, just because you guys are the brawn of the group."

Then he pointed to Adrian and Astrid and said,

"You two will be in charge of making sure that Josh and Barry do NOT get caught. Do anything you can to keep guards away from wherever they build while making sure that you guys don't get yourself caught in the process. Adrian, you're Gold-Digger—"

Adrian's eyes widened in anger at that moment and he put his fist up.

"Hey!"

"No, no, not that kind of gold-digger. You're from Texas, so there's, um, you know, "gold in dem dar hills" or something along those lines. Sorry if I'm being stereotypical..."

Adrian sighed, murmuring something about being easily irritated, and then he let Mark continue.

"Astrid, you're gonna be—"

"Likeaboss!" she declared.

"Fine, whatever, just stick to the codename. And finally," he rolled up their planning sheet and slapped it down on the table. "I shall be Ringmaster, because I'm the one calling all the shots for this operation."

Just then, Jack came back and sat down at the table, folding his hands out in front of him.

"We should give this whole thing a name, don't you think?"

Suddenly, Josh raised his hand and whispered excitedly,

"Oh! I know, let's call it "Operation Overkill" since we're doing SO much to this Lucas dude!" he unrolled the sheet of paper on the table and pointed all over it. "Just look at all this crap he's gonna go through! It makes sense, doesn't it?!"

They all shushed him quickly, and Josh slapped his pudgy hands over his mouth.

"Keep quiet, partner..." muttered Adrian, taking a glance around the cafeteria. "We don' wan' ter be overheard, now do we?"

Josh let go of his lips and looked down at the paper.

"Yeah, sorry..."

Mark just shrugged.

"Anyway, now that we've assigned the rolls and codenames, let's get back to this plan here; we still have some things to cover..."

* * *

Meanwhile, somewhere miles and miles away from Diamond University, Norman and Liz had just come across something very strange. They'd been wandering through a jungle for quite some time, and as they walked into its very heart they found an interesting building sitting there. It was made of black and white wool to make a checkered pattern.

They stood at the entrance for a moment, just taking it all in, and then Liz suggested that they go inside. Norman agreed with her, but got his weapon out, and she did the same. They walked through the entrance to find themselves in a room similar to that of the inside of a desert temple, only much larger, and it was empty.

"There's nobody here..." murmured Liz, taking a glance around the vast room.

Together they moved towards the other end of the room, and another small doorway appeared there. When they walked through it they found a black and white throne sitting unoccupied in the middle of the room. Liz moved close to it and outstretched a hand, running it along one of the chair arms.

"I wonder who lives here..." she muttered thoughtfully.

Suddenly she pressed an invisible buttons somewhere on the arm, and a sudden whirring sound echoed through the room. She retracted her hand and looked around at Norman.

"What's that?"

Norman got his weapon back out and got ready for whatever was about to be thrown at him. But nothing came for another minute, and finally something happened; the doorway filled itself in, enclosing them, and then a Yin-Yang small enough to fit in you palm appeared before them. It was reflective, and when Norman and Liz took a careful observation, what they saw was amazing. It was like looking through a window, because they could see Mark sitting with a bunch of people at a table in a cafeteria in a tight huddle; they were poring over a single piece of paper. Vanessa was nowhere to be seen, though.

"Wait a minute," muttered Norman, peering extremely close into the live-action image. He scanned the little vision for a moment and then saw what he was looking for; there was a sign on the wall behind them that read, "In Honor Of Diamond University", on it in gold lettering. Norman put the pieces together instantly, and whirled around to face his wife.

"Mark is living on campus at Diamond University! Wait, no... No, it's another university in honor of the original, so there must be several Diamond University academic centers built around Minecraftia. That narrows it down a lot, doesn't it?"

Liz suddenly pointed back at the screen and said,

"Look, there's Vanessa!"

Norman turned back around and looked into the Yin-Yang. She was right, because Vanessa could be seen walking around in the background of the scene.

* * *

Vanessa walked down the rows of tables, looking for an empty one that she could work on, but was unsuccessful in her search; everybody seemed to be yelling and laughing and making noise, which greatly annoyed her. Then she saw a group of people sitting hushed in the corner of the room, and she immediately thought that they too had found a quiet place to study. She walked over to that table and plopped all her books and papers down in a neat pile.

When they lifted their heads to see who had sat down, Vanessa noticed that Mark and Adrian were there, and it immediately became awkward for the two of them.

"Hello Vanessa." murmured Mark. Then he noticed all the books she was carrying and added, "Er, why do you have so much, um, school supplies?"

Vanessa sighed as she was opening her notebook to locate her notes for what looked like brewing class.

"Well, I figured that as long as we are guests here, why not partake in the education they offer? I'm going to be VERY behind from not doing schoolwork all summer, so if there's anything I can do it might as well be here in the world of, what was it again... Oh yes; the Minecraft Dimension."

The boys (and Astrid) all exchanged skeptical looks at the table for a moment.

"School? You're seriously managing to stick to schoolwork even while inside a GAME?!" he apologized to Josh and Barry, taking a brief moment to explain about the Minecraft game on Earth. "Anyway, how could you think about school when it's Blockbusting Week? You're supposed to have fun!"

Vanessa ignored his comment completely.

"I'm just here for a quiet place to sit."

Adrian grinned at Mark from the side and slowly started to lift his banjo from out under the table, but Mark shook his head. Mark watched Vanessa working for another few seconds, thinking of a way to get her out of her schoolwork, and then had an idea.

"Hey, it's been a while since we've seen Gabe, why don't you go find him and say hi? Maybe even invite him over to one of our parties, if he's willing."

At the thought of talking alone with Gabe, Vanessa looked up quickly with a sudden look of interest upon her face.

"Okay then." she said, picking up her stuff and getting ready to leave. But then she realized what she was doing and sat back down. "Wait, wait, wait... I'm not skipping my work, even if this does have to do with talking to," she took a huge, dramatic sigh. "Gabe..." she snapped back out of it and added, "Besides, Blockbusting Day will be in five days not including today, and I'm gonna take those end-of-year exams to get a different Block power, or whatever you call them; I refuse to own the last name of Cobweb."

So Vanessa got back to her work, muttering things under her breath as she went, and Mark and his crew went back to their business, brainstorming and planning.

Several hours of being in the cafeteria passed—not all of it was planning for Operation Overkill; a large portion of time was spent just fooling around like teenage guys would (plus Astrid, who was practically a boy herself judging the way she acted). The night was upon them again, and they immediately found themselves sitting back down to eat dinner. Mark shoveled food down his throat as fast as he could and then waited for his friends to do the same, and they stuck around in the cafeteria to let all the others begin to leave. Soon enough they were completely alone at a table, and that's when Mark set their planning sheet back down to do some last-minute planning before the meeting later that evening.

They were all just keeping to themselves at the table in a quiet manner when all of a sudden somebody spoke from behind.

"Mark and Adrian, what are you doing?"

Mark gave a little jump and turned around, hoping to see anybody but Lucas. It was not Lucas, but Gabe. He had cleaned up pretty well after being all bloody and broken like before.

"Er... Er, well, we're... Planning a party." he lied.

Gabe smiled and lifted his head to try and see the planner, but the boys and Astrid huddled around it in a tight formation to block his view.

"May I see the planner?" he asked politely.

Everybody exchanged glances, and then they looked at Mark all together as if waiting for directions, as he had declared himself the leader of the operation. Mark just stared open-mouthed at Gabe, looking totally idiotic and brain-dead, possibly because he felt like he really was. Before he could think of a reply, Gabe moved forward importantly and snatched the piece of paper up to take a good look at it. It was blank. He stared at it for a moment, blinked twice, and then just shrugged and put it back down.

"Nice plan you've got there." he muttered softly, and then walked off.

Mark gave a heavy sigh, but then started to laugh a bit. Little did Gabe know, their plan was written in invisible ink that Jack had smuggled in from President Camera's office. Only they could read it, which would come in handy if the paper were to ever be dropped and picked back up again by Lucas or a staff member. Once they knew that the coast was clear for sure this time, they got back to work.

Finally, one of the custodians kicked them out of the lunchroom at a quarter to nine o'clock, so they had to go back up into the boy's hallway. They still had a little over two hours before the meeting would start, so everybody was skittish. Normally, Astrid would be down in the girls' hallway, but she just ducked out of sight whenever a camp counselor passed by.

Finally, after an agonizing two hours, eleven o'clock came, and as soon as the counselors said they were going to bed Mark and the others rushed towards the stairwell on the other side of the hallway. Their turnout was so crazy it was almost overwhelming for Mark. About fifteen or so people—surprisingly enough, more boys than girls at a ratio of 9:6—were standing crammed into the stairwell, conversing with each other. The boys that were there had set up a poker table in the corner of the stairwell and were playing blackjack. As soon as Adrian saw the table he did an athletic leap over the heads of the people below him and landed next to the table, startling the guys sitting there. He plopped himself down just in time to start a new game, and as he was taking his poker chips he looked back at Mark and cupped his hands to his mouth.

"Hey, Mark ol' buddy! Can I jus' do one round o' poker? It's been too long since I've played poker, it has!"

Mark checked his watch and saw that they had only ten more minutes until the meeting. He sighed, gave Adrian a quick nod, and sat down, leaning against the wall, and he just talked with his friends while he waited. Although, Mark was quite distracted, because he kept looking over at the poker table, and he couldn't help but smile to himself. He was watching Adrian, who was just piling on the chips, annoying all the other guys with his skills. In fact, Adrian was so good that he actually won the game in thirteen minutes, so they were still pretty much on schedule.

Mark shushed everybody, and immediately all eyes were on him. He felt slightly uncomfortable with everybody looking right at him, but he took a deep breath and started his prepared monologue.

"Alright, I have gathered you all here tonight to discuss," he lifted up a large photo of Lucas and waved it around. "this boy, Lucas Creeper."

Since everybody now knew the horrible things that Lucas did, they let out catcalls and whatnot.

"Anyway, we will be setting up the ultimate prank, and THAT is why I will need as many working individuals as possible. I have created an entire blueprint of the plan, and Jack here," he gestured next to him at him. "Will be projecting the plan onto the wall behind you so that it is clear for all to see. Do your stuff, Jack."

Within a minute of Jack and his hacking of the system, he had enlarged the blueprint on the wall inside the stairwell, and the fifteen people standing cluttered on the landing turned around to see it.

"Alright, everyone, I'm going to now divide you into two teams!"

He pointed to what was almost half of the people in the stairwell and said,

"Alpha Team, you're in charge of keeping guards away from where we will be building this whole thing." He then pointed to the other half. "Gold Team, you will be building these contraptions under the cover of night, and we have until the end of Blockbusting Week to get this all done. Any questions?"

Some fat kid in the back raised both fists.

"GOLD TEAM RULES!"

Mark rolled his eyes, but then stepped to the side of the stairwell, pointed towards the exit, and said,

"Now get moving!"

* * *

**Heheheheheh. Did anybody else get that reference right there? :3**

**Anyway, how about some QAA?**

**To the Glitch: What are you waiting for? I know you're saving energy! Come on! Hit me with all you got!**

The Glitch: *prepares a Spirit Blast of Dark energy rather than Light energy* _DARKNESS SHALL PREVAIL! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!_

To Mark: There ya go! Now, what Si means in that quote is that you have to hit hard and strike fast. Make sure to follow those words and do your best. Get some rest then let Lucas suffer!

Mark: Heck yeah! With the team I've got now, NOTHING is going to stand in my way!

**Kelsey: You must save Mark he is stuck with Raven. Mark loves you, Raven kissed him. He is in the infirmary he thought that Raven was you because she disguised her voice. Mark never kissed her, she kissed him.**

Kelsey: Unless Mark can come up with an elaborate way to prove any of that to me, I'm going to have to say no, and that it's about time I moved on... *sighs and walks off to nowhere*

**To Mark: Just kiss Kelsey like Norman did Liz! *shows mark scene from Glitch***

Mark: I know, I've already seen that part, remember? You know, we watched The Glitch as a movie a while ago, so...

**To the Glitch: Rock on emperor. ;)**

The Glitch: _I'm flattered! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAFLATTEREDHAHAHAHAHAHA!_

**To Liz: Your kids are fine, just learning to deal with the other gender.**

Liz: But... I want to be there to at least talk about it to him!

**To Mark: Give Gabe a bedrock spear next time you see him, as a make-up gift. Then he can help you smear Lucas into a bloody, disfigured pulp! :)**

Mark: Woah, just take it easy man. I'm not looking to kill the kid. I just want to humiliate him to the point where it equals the pain that I've had to experience because of him.

**To the Glitch: Eat waffles! *launches waffles out of a super powered toaster gun***

The Glitch: *eats the waffles* _Seriously? All you did was give me breakfast._

**To the Glitch: Is this the only game you glitch up, or is my Steam library at risk? Because if it is, I won't go down without a fight! *holds up puny foam sword***

The Glitch: _I have not yet explored other dimensions yet, but in the very soon future I will be sending my plasma to every single one of the infinite dimensions. Yes, I shall be able to plague INFINITE dimensions! YES, YES, YES! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHAHAHA! ...Oh, that was my longest-lasting evil laugh! New record!_

**To the Glitch: What do u mean "on your side"? You know that the three prophecies say that u get your ass kicked? Please explain how that is helping you, besides in the department of total pwnage. Unless you come back a fourth time. I wouldn't be surprised, you're like AIDs. You suck and you never leave.**

The Glitch: _Well, well, what a smartass. I'll tell you one thing and one thing only... I will not be defeated, so I will not have a fourth comeback. Instead, I will last the test of time and destroy all matter, and NO ONE WILL EVER STOP ME! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! This is the second time this QAA that I've talked about my future reign of the universe._

**To Norman: Your problems are part of the reason I don't date. Really man, don't take on idiot challenges from idiot kids *Lucas* to do idiot this that WILL swamp your boat. Common sense. Everyone in Minecraft knows that. Except the Glitch.**

Norman: Who's Lucas?

**For next time, how will Operation Overkill go? Will Lucas fully understand what he's done when all this is over? And WHO here wants to see him soil his pants? (I do! XD)** **Find out next chapter in VOiD! But for now, this is Pastrinator64, and I'll see you later with chapter numbah twenty-four!**

***throws sugar bomb, disappears in a cloud of fine white sugar***

**Byyyyyeeeeee...**

**~Pastrinator64 [~]**


	24. Chapter 24: An Operation Gone Wrong

**Hello, this is Pastrinator64 with another chapter from VOiD. School's been a huge obstacle nowadays, and I sincerely hope you guys aren't losing faith in me, because I stayed up all last night trying to finish this chapter. I wouldn't want it to be all for naught, y'know?**

**Secondly, I'd just like to thank all my faithful fans for getting VOiD up to 300 reviews! *happy dance* I thought this story would only get to 300 at its end, but since there are many more chapters to come, who knows what it might heighten to? SO EXCITED! XD**

**And thirdly, I was just going back and recording a bunch of important stuff from The Glitch last night and I decided to look at some of the story's finest moments. When I came to the scene where Norman and Lizzy are about to leave for Earth and they're giving their final farewells to their friends, I teared up a little. It brought back so many memories... Just thought I'd share that.**

**Anyway, crying will have to wait, because we need to get on with the story! But first, how about some replies to YOUR reviews?**

Replies To Reviews

**Volcanic the hedgehog: **Man, you know what's really hard, though? It's tough to put something that would be easier to film into writing. Like, with all the description I had to put in to Operation Overkill I was having a lot of trouble keeping it fluent.

**CSICreeper: **It's one of my top ten favorite episodes. *also piles cookies on top of you because you're special* I wish I could watch Naruto, but my parents don't think it's a good idea to let me have access to YouTube. *grunts in annoyance* Apparently I can't handle anything bad that pops up, but... Whatever, I survive.

**BfheadGamer: **Heck yeah! *brofist*

**Dirt BlockZ: **Yeah, I like bringing back characters from the first book. It's kinda fun, so why not?

**AssassinRedCreeper: **Do you like waffles? *YEAH I LIKE WAFFLES!* Do you like pancakes? *YEAH I LIKE PANCAKES!* Do you like French toast? *YEAH I LIKE FRENCH TOAST!* Doot doot dadoot can't wait to get a mouthful!

**lightsaber36: **I'm a guy, so let's get that straight just to make it easier. :D But then again, I could be a dog, couldn't I? On the Internet nobody knows you're a dog... NOBODY! XD

**Nwinds: **I am so very glad that you approve. I know that I was in a tough rut earlier in the story, but I seemed to have gotten out of it, right?

**Mmtunlight: **Actually, if you want to ask a question to the author (me) just talk in normal review form. If you want to talk in QAA style, then just ask a question to a character and specify who you want to ask and what. Do I make sense?

**Okay, now that we've got THAT out of the way, how about we get on with the real story?**

**Hello, this is Pastrinator64 with another chapter from VOiD. Last time on VOiD we watched as Mark and his friends prepared for Lucas's demise. They spent several hours poring over their plan, making sure it was perfect for the upcoming meeting. At the same time, Norman and Liz had found themselves wandering into the Temple Of Day And Night, although the Mastermind wasn't currently at home. There they witnessed a live-action vision of Mark and Vanessa's activity, and then the story switched back to Mark's view. After a long day of planning the meeting finally came, and Mark was able to recruit fifteen other graduating students. Now we watch as they work together to perform the ultimate prank against Lucas: Operation Overkill.**

**Now, let the story commence!**

* * *

_Chapter 24: An Operation Gone Horribly Wrong_

The following days were hectic for everyone. Mark had an entire team of mischief-makers to direct, plus there were events, AND they had to organize all their stuff at night. Jack was doing a pretty good job, and when he wasn't moaning in the bathroom he was sitting secluded in the corner of the lunchroom with his eyes closed, obviously thinking up commands by the busload. Thankfully, he was able to slide beneath the administrative system undetected, so he was able to make all blocks within three blocks of the campus vulnerable, which allowed them to break and/or build as long as they were still within school grounds.

Every night was a hassle for both Alpha Team and Gold Team. Alpha Team had many close calls with distracting the nighttime guards, and on many occasions someone was nearly caught. Gold Team also had to deal with technical problems involving complicated redstone-wiring. At one point a whole waterfall came down out of the ceiling in one of the hallways they were working at, so it took at least five minutes of loud splashing to get it all cleaned up, that's how much there was. Still, Alpha Team did their jobs well enough along with Gold Team, so everything turned out okay in the end.

Well, after one crazy week, their master plan had come to a finish. Right on time, too; the final day of Blockbusting Week had arrived, and they were going to take a fieldtrip to the Slayers Academy, the training camp for Dungeoneers who want to join the Slayers, the most skilled Dungeoneers in the Minecraft Dimension, the soldiers of Minecraftia. It was a fieldtrip envied by many, but all graduating students would take a six-hour-long schoolcart—a massively oversized minecart on tracks—ride to their destination.

Mark awoke with both high charisma and persistent nerves at three in the morning, for they would be leaving at 4:30 AM, but they needed enough time for Operation Overkill. He shook Josh awake, who grumbled for a moment, but got up a few minutes later; they both were able to get ready within fifteen minutes. They still had an hour and fifteen minutes to spare, which was a fine amount of time. As Mark was lifting his Blockpack onto his back he heard Mickey speak to him again.

_"Master, today is day for embarassing suspicious boy, yes?"_

Mark grinned and patted his Blockpack.

"Yep, we're going to make Lucas wish he'd never joined our group. Only after this will he understand what he's put me through..."

"Master is great! Master is great master for Mickey! Mickey does not like boy, he is suspicious, and Master does not like boy, so we close! We are close, right Master?"

"Yeah, I guess. Sorry we haven't really, y'know, spoken in a while."

"That is okay. Mickey has been sleepy, he sleepy in warm bag, he fall asleep a lot."

Mark just nodded, unsure of what else to say, and walked with Josh out the door. Adrian and Barry were waiting in the stairwell at the other end of the hallway.

"Hey." they both said, seeing Mark and Josh approach.

Mark leaned against the wall and looked down the stairwell at the end of the girl's hallway.

"So, where are Astrid and Jack?"

"They're both gettin' ready, I s'pose." murmured Adrian, who was occupying himself with twirling his iron frying pan on one finger.

Suddenly, Astrid came running up into the stairwell from above, coming directly from the boys' hallway.

"What took you so long?" asked Barry gruffly, folding his hairy arms.

Astrid bounced on her heels and quickly blew her hair from her eyes.

"I just filled Lucas's dorm room with silverfish stone—I gotta use my Block power sometime, right? Anyway, I covered the entire door with them and then stacked them up all over the room, in front of the mirror, above the trash can, at the foot of his bed, and pretty much everywhere else! Guess what'll happen when he wakes up at 3:30 to get ready and wants to clear out the "stone"?"

Mark's grin widened to match Astrid's as the image of Lucas screaming like a girl with silverfish swarming him flashed through his mind.

"Where's Jack?" she asked.

Barry shrugged and looked back up towards the boy's hallway.

"Getting ready too, probably."

Josh elbowed Mark and whispered,

"Or using the bathroom for the billionth time."

They stood around talking for a few minutes, but then Astrid remembered something and took off her Blockpack, rummaging around inside it.

"What are you looking for?" asked Josh curiously.

Astrid found what she was looking for and held out a stack of sixty obsidian blocks to them.

"What're those fer?" muttered Adrian in a slightly suspicious tone.

"These are for emergencies only..." said Astrid, handing them each a stack of ten obsidian and leaving ten for herself. "If you ever find yourself in trouble, like, in any circumstance, just build yourself a Nether portal! I carry this stuff with me all the time, plus like a dozen flint and steels. Is that how you say it? I always had trouble saying the plural for flint and steel..." she added, handing them each a flint and steel.

As Mark took a stack and the flint and steel he grinned, saying,

"Just as Vanessa, she'd give you a whole lecture on how to say it if you really wanted."

They waited until 3:36 before Jack walked down into the stairwell. He too was smiling, and Mark knew for a fact that he too was overcome with anticipation.

"Where were you, the bathroom?" muttered Barry impatiently.

Jack shook his head and broadened his smile, then pulled something from out of the hotbar on his right arm. It was a stack of six walkie-talkies.

"Nope, I was making these little beauties; I've got a homemade walk-talkie for everyone on the team. There were twenty-one before, but I already gave the others out last night." he handed each of his team members a walkie-talkie and then pocketed his. "Alright, so when does Operation Overkill officially begin?"

Mark pointed back up towards the boys' hallway and said,

"Well, Astrid set up a bunch of silverfish stones in his dorm room, so when Lucas wakes up at 3:45 to get ready for the fieldtrip he'll get a very unpleasant surprise. He and his roommate, actually."

Adrian sighed happily and a look of amusement crossed his face.

"Ah, I sho' do feel sorry fer Lucas's roommate. He's gotta deal wit' it too."

Mark checked his watch again. It was already 3:38, so they only had seven minutes before the fun began. The six of them stood around in the stairwell for another six minutes before Mark decided to alert both Alpha Team and Gold Team. He pressed down on the small speaker button on his walkie-talkie and spoke into it.

"Alright, everybody," he whispered, "Operation Overkill is about to begin. Everyone get to their stations immediately. I will be giving orders as we go through the plan, okay?" He looked down at his watch and saw that they had another thirty seconds before the digital alarm clock in Lucas's dorm room would sound.

"We begin in thirty, twenty-nine, twenty-eight, twenty-seven...

...twenty, nineteen, eighteen, seventeen...

...ten, nine, eight...

...five, four, three, two, one." somewhere in the boys hallway a soft buzzing sound could be heard.

"Operation Overkill has begun."

Mark whispered to his friends to stay quiet, and together they ran as silently as possible up to Lucas and his roommate Harry's dorm room. They all leaned in close to hear what was going on inside. Lucas could be heard getting up, and then there was a pause.

"What the...?" he muttered, probably seeing the silverfish stones everywhere."

"Lucas, why'd you put stone everywhere?" grumbled Harry.

"I didn't do it."

"Nobody else could have, we always lock our door."

"Maybe somebody broke in through the floor or the ceiling."

"Dude, there's no way anyone besides the staff could do that, isn't this, like, all protected under the admin?"

Jack flashed a grin to everybody, looking highly pleased with himself.

"Well, whatever, let's just clear this all out."

Then there was the sound of metal hitting stone, and when the pop of a block being broken was heard, the moment later Lucas let out an unmanly scream. A silverfish could be heard hissing on the other side of the door, and then it died away as Lucas killed it. But that only triggered the twenty other "stone" blocks to break open, and soon both Lucas and his roommate were screaming. Even the masses of silverfish couldn't be louder. Under the cover of the noise Mark allowed himself to laugh along with everybody else.

Suddenly, the door burst open and Lucas came flailing out in pj's with a swarm of silverfish piling on top of him. He ran screaming down the hallway, trying to shake the swarm, but the little insects ignored all the people now streaming into the hallway just so they could get Lucas. This was because Mickey was whispering commands to them the whole time.

_"GET BOY! GET BOY! HE MEAN! HE MEAN!"_ Mark heard Mickey shout.

All the graduating boys were out in the hallway now, each with groggy expressions, bleary eyes, and slouching backs.

"What's going on...?" muttered one boy grumpily, rubbing his eyes.

Pretending to be concerned, Mark put on a serious face and said,

"I think somebody pranked Lucas! He woke up and got attacked by silverfish. Who would do such a thing?" he added, trying as hard as he could to remain serious.

Mark and his friends ran down the hallway to catch up with Lucas. As they ran down the stairwell Mark spoke into his walkie-talkie.

"Alright, Aquaman77, we're about to come your way."

Just as expected, they found Lucas walking down the hallway to their right, the one leading to the commons. He was shaking himself, looking freaked out and alert, and when Mark and the others approached him he swung around and lifted C.H.O. to strike them down.

"SILVERFISH!" he shouted, bringing it down the next moment.

Mark yelped and launched himself backwards, narrowly missing the sharp blade of his diamond axe. When he stood back up Lucas had realized that it was just them. He sighed with relief and wrenched his blade from out of the wooden floor.

"Oh, it's just you." he murmured, taking a quick glance around them. He then looked Mark straight in the eye and said, "Dude, somebody put a bunch of silverfish stone blocks in my dorm room!"

Mark kept a straight face and widened his eyes in fake surprise.

"Really? Who?"

"I dunno, but I'm gonna use C.H.O. on whoever did." he looked back the way he came towards the bottom of the stairwell. "I'm afraid to go back up and change, though. What if there're more?"

Mark put his arm over Lucas's shoulder and started walking him the other way.

"Don't worry, Jack can help you with that."

Of course, Lucas had no idea what Mark meant by that, but he just continued to look worried.

"Okay, but he'd better get me into normal clothes before we get into the commons."

Mark looked down the hallway and saw an upcoming tripwire only ten blocks from their position, and they were walking right into it. With two blocks to go Mark pretended to trip on the flat ground and landed on his hands, pretending to be hurt. Lucas looked down to see him rolling around on the ground moaning, and he quickly looked up at the others, saying,

"Somebody get a staff member!" he said a bit overdramatically, and then turned around in the other direction. "I'll quick find someone!"

Lucas ran forward only two steps, and then his foot caught on the tripwire and he too fell to the floor. Mark quickly rolled out of the way as a waterfall poured down upon Lucas, who was engulfed in the downpour within seconds. Mark gave himself a moment to laugh again—Lucas wouldn't hear with the distraction—and then plugged up the holes that had dropped all the water. Lucas lay gasping and soaked to the bone in his pj's on the ground, looking dazed as ever. Mark helped Lucas to his feet and said,

"Lucas, are you okay?!"

Lucas just gasped for another ten seconds, but then blinked away water and looked at Mark.

"Somebody must really hate me, dude!"

He made Mark let go of him and turned around for a moment, bending down with his weight on his knees, taking deep breaths. Mark once again leaned away and whispered into his walkie-talkie.

"Aquaman77, stage two is complete."

When Lucas had finally gotten his breath back he started walking back towards the stairwell, shivering like crazy.

"I-I'm going to g-go change."

Behind his back Mark and the others were laughing as quietly as they could manage. They walked up the stairwell and into the hallway, getting a lot of amused looks from the other guys. Lucas was quite the sight at the moment. Mark and co. stood outside Lucas's door as the kid went inside to change. A few seconds passed, but then Lucas could be heard saying,

"What the heck?"

He came back outside still in his soggy pajamas, only he was holding a sign. He held it up to them and it read, "COME TO NORTH TOWER TO GET YOUR CLOTHES BACK," in bold print. He grunted in anger and chucked the sign item at the wall, breaking it apart on contact. Lucas stormed down the hallway, giving all the boys around him dirty looks. Mark looked back and grinned again, and they followed Lucas as he navigated his way upward through the stairwell.

"Bouncepad, we're coming your way..." whispered Mark.

They exited the stairwell and followed Lucas down a dull, dark hallway with boxes piled on either side. Mark hurried up and jogged next to Lucas, who just scowled.

"Mark, I'm so gonna beat up this guy." he muttered, speeding up.

"I'll help you when we find him." said Mark, keeping his face as concerned-looking as possible.

Suddenly, Lucas's foot landed on a pressure plate, and a spring beneath him jerked up, launching him into the ceiling. Lucas screamed in both pain and surprise, and then fell back down to the ground, and another spring-loaded pressure plate was activated, sending Lucas flying down the hallway roughly. Mark jumped back to avoid the pressure-plate-covered floor that Lucas had gotten stuck in, and watched as Lucas flew this way and that, being thrown everywhere by the merciless springs. Finally, another minute later Lucas hit the right spring and he flew at the other end of the hallway, smashing face-first into the wall.

The block at Lucas's face broke open, and more water came spilling out, pushing him back onto the ground in a soaking mess. Mark took out a stone axe and plowed his way through the wooden pressure plates, careful not to step on any. When he reached Lucas, he found the kid with a huge lump on his forehead.

"Ow."

Mark helped Lucas to his feet and said,

"Are you okay?"

Lucas closed his eyes painfully and grimaced, leaning on Mark. He sounded like he was holding back tears when he muttered,

"J-just get me to the infirmary..."

Mark took Lucas down the next hallway, and soon they found themselves facing a large set of doors. Above the doors was a sign that said, "STORAGE ROOM: DO NOT ENTER". Mark wrenched the sign off and flipped it on its other side, and on that side there was other writing: "YOUR CLOTHES ARE HERE". Over his shoulder Josh spoke in a surprisingly convincing voice.

"Hey, the jerk that's been pranking you put your clothes in the storage room!"

Adrian stepped in too and added,

"Why would he put it up here?"

Lucas grumbled and opened his eyes, which looked slightly glazed with extreme anger and embarrassment. He shook Mark's hand off and opened one of the doors.

"I don't give a crap, I just want my clothes back." he muttered, shivering as he walked through the door.

Mark turned around and exchanged amused glances with everyone, and silently laughed as well. As they followed Lucas inside the room he bent over and whispered once again into his walkie-talkie.

"Zomburglar, we're entering the upper storage room now."

The inside of the storage room was very dark. Only a few redstone torches along the walls lit the room. There were chests everywhere, all covered with cobwebs. It seemed as though nobody had used the room in a long time. Mark took one glance back at his friends, nodded to them, and they nodded back. Lucas stopped in the middle of the room, arms clasped together, shivering like crazy.

"Where are my clothes?" he said weakly, shaking his head slightly.

"Let's look in all the chests!" declared Astrid, raising a fist.

And so they did. Everyone went to a chest, and as Mark looked at them all for confirmation, they nodded again. That was their cue, and together they opened the chests. Suddenly, a zombie rose out of each. Lucas whirled around just in time to see six zombies sluggishly sauntering towards him; their drooling mouths open as if to expect food.

Lucas grimaced and raised C.H.O. to strike, but being much taller than him, a zombie came in and grabbed the handle, wrenching it from his grip. Lucas screamed and backed up into the wall, cowering. Mark quickly whispered into his into his walkie-talkie.

"Dropdown, now!"

As the zombies were bearing down on Lucas, the block beneath his feet opened up, and the pajama-donning boy plummeted downward, his girly scream echoing as he went down. Mark, Adrian, Astrid, Josh, Barry and Jack quickly killed the zombies and then looked down into the hole. Lucas could be heard screaming still. He screamed, he screamed, he screamed, and then it ended with an abrupt grunt. Mark laughed hard and he too jumped down into the hole, his friends following close behind.

Mark plummeted for roughly sixty-some blocks, but then something dark gray appeared underneath his feet, and he felt himself hit something very stretchy. He bounced back upward again and guided himself forward through the air, landing on solid wood floor the next moment. The others landed moments later, and Mark turned towards the trampoline that had just saved their lives. Lucas lay flat on his back next to the trampoline, his chest rising and falling rapidly, his eyes frozen in fear to stare at the high ceiling. They were back in the massive common room of the school, and all the students who went to Diamond University were there. They were surrounded by a swarm of people, all watching the frozen figure of Lucas.

Suddenly, Lucas sat up and looked around frantically, seeing that he was surrounded by people. Mark walked next to Lucas. He paused, savoring the moment, and then gestured with both his hands down at Lucas.

"Ladies and gentleman... I give you Lucas!"

The crowd around them erupted with boos and hisses.

"This is the kid you've been told about, the one who sacrificed all the good things in my life for his amusement. He is the one who ripped from me the person who mattered most in my life..." he paused, taking the time to look down at Lucas, who stared back up at him with confused and terrified eyes.

As the crowd jeered at Lucas louder and louder yet, Lucas's eyes widened. His cheeks turned extremely red, and he grimaced, his teeth clenched.

"Mark..." he murmured, staring at him hurtfully.

Mark sighed and said,

"Lucas, now that you understand the pain that I had go to through—and the pain I still have to go through—you must realize what you put me through. You must realize that your disgusting and selfish actions caused my life to fall to pieces. And now everyone knows it." he leaned down and looked seriously at Lucas this time. "Lucas, what do you have to say for yourself?"

Lucas just stared at Mark for a few seconds, horrorstruck. When Mark didn't get an answer he pulled off his Blockpack and searched around inside. Finally, he pulled out something and held it in front of Lucas. It was the Balance Core, which was still swirling restlessly inside its unbreakable glass bottle.

"You see this? This is the reason I've been brought here. I received dreams from both Farixz the First—the elder of the Spirits In Between—and Notch. In those dreams I was told many things, and one thing I was told was that I needed to destroy all distractions and continue with my quest. If I couldn't get rid of the problems that surrounded me I would never be able to fulfill my destiny properly, and the universe would only fall into further depths of darkness. So, not only by ruining my life have you upset me almost beyond the point of return, but you have prevented me from moving forward in life. You would have been willing to sacrifice the existence of the universe for your own pleasure." he waved the Balance Core in front of Lucas's face once more. "I will ask you this one more time... WHAT have you got to say for yourself?"

Lucas was staring hard at the Balance Core, a look of malice on his face. Mark hadn't ever seen it before, and it slightly shook him. All of a sudden, a chill swept the room, making Mark shiver. Without any warning, Lucas growled angrily and leapt forward and latched his hands onto the glass bottle that held the Balance Core. Mark yelled in surprise and wrenched it back, trying to take it away. His eyes widened as he watched the glass beneath Lucas's fingers start to melt away.

As if on cue, Gabe leapt from the crowd and linked his arms around Lucas's throat, lifting him up into the air.

"RUN!" he shouted to Mark.

The crowd around them was screaming and running amok in fear. Lucas was twitching and shuddering, clutching at Gabe's beefy hands, digging his fingernails into Gabe's skin. Mark suddenly became aware of how hot the bottle around his hands was getting, and he dropped it in surprise, seeing that it was half-melted and glowing red. Mark looked back up at Gabe, who was struggling to keep Lucas from launching himself at the Balance Core, and he looked at his friend with a determined and equally angry face.

"I SAID RUN! GET OUT OF—" he screamed, clenching his teeth.

But before he could say another word, Gabe screamed out in immense pain and fell backwards, letting Lucas go. Gabe's hands had melted into a disfigured lump of flesh and blood, just like how the glass had liquefied. Lucas hissed, his eyes glowing red, and whirled around to face Gabe, who lay weeping on the ground, his ruined hands outstretched before him. Lucas bent down and clasped a clawed hand around Gabe's throat, lifting HIM into the air effortlessly. Then he spoke, but his voice was metallic and alien.

_"I cannot bring myself to remain in this pitiful body any longer!"_

Lucas threw Gabe onto the ground harshly and then howled, throwing back his head. He opened his mouth and continued to howl, and as he did, black plasma began to flow from out of his throat, bursting up like a geyser and landed all around him. The plasma shifted, forming one gigantic blob that was roughly fifty feet tall. It also formed wings; massive, gigantic drooping wings became outstretched from either end of the blob's body. Then two slits appeared near the top, both glowing a fierce red. A mouth appeared in the middle, a monstrous gaping hole that contained an ever-consuming black hole. The Glitch had materialized before their very eyes.

Mark had never wanted to be somewhere else in his life, but his knees buckled and he couldn't find the will to run any more. So he stood there, staring at the monster that was the Glitch—who he had only seen once before, a time that seemed ages ago—and watched as the Glitch stretched its wings and smiled wickedly. Lucas's body lay next to the monster, his eyes cold and dead. Suddenly, a green mist began to flow from him, and Mark immediately recognized it as the same kind of mist that had come from little Amelia when she died. The Glitch saw the mist for only one moment, but then grinned ever so evilly and opened its mouth, sucking up Lucas's aura as a quick snack.

The Glitch let out a metallic screech, breaking every window in the common room, and glass rained down upon the screaming crowd of students that ran in a state of pure chaos. It then turned back around and leaned downward, staring down at Gabe.

_"Ah, how I have been waiting for this moment."_ declared the Glitch, spreading its wings high into the air, sending Gabe into a complete shadow.

Mark didn't know what made him do it, but he ran forward as fast as he could force himself to go. He crouched down at Gabe's side and shielded him from the Glitch.

_"What is this?"_ said the Glitch, suddenly bringing down one of its wings and curling it around Mark painfully. Mark shouted out desperately as a burning pain spread through his body. _"Little Cobweb Jr. wants to protect his friend? Well, I've got bad news for you, kid, because YOU are going to be my appetizer!"_

Mark new that it was the end of his life at that moment. As searing pain tore through his mind he thought about all the things he wanted to do in life. He was too young to die! He thought he had a great life ahead of him, but... This couldn't be how he died, could it?

For Mark's sake it wasn't. At that exact moment about a hundred staff members came streaming into the room with guns—maybe they got special mod privileges, Mark wondered. Bullets filled the air as they all fired at the Glitch's body. The bullets didn't do anything but disintegrate upon contact, and all that did was make the Glitch turn and face them.

_"Insolent mortals!"_

The Glitch took its other wing and swept it around the room rapidly, killing each and every one of the surrounding men and women instantly. As a rainbow of mists filled the air, the Glitch opened its mouth once again and sucked every drop of the substance. It let out a deep grumbling noise and smiled widened, its red mouth curled and twisted.

_"What a delicious bite!"_ the Glitch's lifted to stare back at Mark. _"I suppose one more appetizer won't hurt!"_

The Glitch opened its massive gaping mouth, exposing the black hole within. Just as Mark was about to be spaghettified and eaten by the virus, there was a blinding flash of white light and Gabe appeared in the air; he lifted his zombie-sword and swung downward, sending a flying cutter of white plasma into the Glitch's wing, slicing it right off. Mark fell screaming to the ground and landed with a thud, knocking the breath out of him. When his vision returned he could see Gabe flying this way and that, slicing away at the Glitch's body, a white aura surrounding him. But the next moment he was swatted from the sky by the Glitch's wing, and he met with the ground like a plummeting meteor.

Mark forced himself to roll onto his side, and through his slightly blurred vision he could see the Balance Core sitting ten blocks from where he was. He summoned the strength from every muscle in his body and dragged himself forward, determined to reach the Balance Core. He even had to remove his Blockpack in order to keep moving.

The Glitch transformed its wing into a massive black claw-like hand. The hand moved freely, and crawled along the ground, stopping above Gabe. The sharp pinky finger outstretched and pressed itself against Gabe's chest, pushing down and puncturing his chest. He screamed out in pain, his eyes rolling back into his head, his body twitching madly.

_"Come on out, Salutem!"_

Gabe's aura, which was a navy blue, rose from out of the puncture hole in chest, and it too was consumed by the Glitch's consuming maw. Then, coming out the next moment were streams of pure white plasma, which shifted around just as the Glitch's black body had done. The plasma formed together into a smaller blob half the Glitch's size and grew its own wings. Two calming blue slits that were eyes appeared near the top, and then a larger slit appeared in the middle, which was the mouth of the creature. Salutem had been brought before them.

"Glitch, you foul being!" it shouted, raising its snow-white wings in anger, its normally calming blue eyes icy cold.

The Glitch leaned back and cackled, its metallic buzz echoing through the whole of Diamond University, shaking it violently. The walls began to crack along with the ceiling, and it was clear that the entire building would collapse within minutes. Suddenly, the Glitch shifted its eyes back around to the other side of its massive body to look down at Mark, who was still crawling desperately towards the Balance Core.

It smirked maliciously and narrowed its eyes, slithering forward to snatch up the Balance Core. Mark was only three blocks away from his goal, he couldn't be stopped... Just as the Glitch bore down upon him with its wings, Salutem launched itself in the way and smashed headlong into the Glitch, sending them both fly into the wall, shattering it completely. The Glitch screeched with anger, and as Mark looked up he could see that everything Salutem was touching of the Glitch was turning white, but at a price of its own plasma darkening. While pinning the Glitch to the ground, Salutem turned partially towards Mark and shouted,

"MARK, TAKE THE BALANCE CORE AND ESCAPE FROM HERE!"

Mark nodded silently and then turned back to his target, dragging himself forward just enough for him to reach it. He reached out with his righty and touched the melted glass around the Balance Core, but again it burned his hand immensely. Suddenly, as Mark stared at his left hand, which he had been using to drag himself forward a moment later, and watched as something amazing happened. All of a sudden, Mark's left hand glowed, and a watery substance colored pure white formed around it, fitting like a glove. It was the Glove of Glad! He had totally forgot about it; maybe it just disappeared when he didn't use it...

But Mark stopped thinking about it and reached out with his left hand, and with the protection of the Glove of Glad he was able to touch the glass without burning his hand. He pulled the Balance Core close to him and then pondered how he was going to get out of there. Meanwhile, Salutem was doing its best to fight off the Glitch. It had taken out its massive white plasma-bludgeon and the Glitch has brought out its slender double-ended black scythe, and they were having a full-out duel. Salutem was fighting a losing battle, and Mark knew it. But what could he do to get out of there?!

Suddenly, realization dawned upon Mark as he remembered something important and looked down at the hotbar on his left arm. In it was the ten blocks of obsidian and the flint and steel that Astrid had given him not that long ago. With every bit of strength left in him he hoisted himself to his feet and balanced, keeping himself as rigid as possible. He feebly lifted an arm and began to build his portal frame. In about a minute he had finally finished it, and he quickly took a glance back at Salutem and the Glitch. Salutem was now fleeing; it zoomed through the air on a trail of white plasma, and the Glitch followed in pursuit, its mouth open to suck its twin up as the main course.

Mark shuffled forward and struck the steel upon the flint right on top of the obsidian frame, and almost instantly a mass of swirling purple panels filled the inside. Mark didn't take any last looks, and dragged himself through the portal blocks. As soon as he had reached the other side he used his nearly-finished diamond pick and broke the portal's connection; the last thing he heard was the Glitch's furious screech, and then all was quiet.

* * *

**Oh... Well then! So, did anybody else expect that? Any guesses for what "Gabe's" secret crafting recipe was for? Hint: it has something to do with Salutem staying completely disguised in Gabe's body.**

**While you're thinking about it, let's get on with some QAA!**

**To the Glitch: You forget a lot don't you? You've lost two times already and now there is a whole new generation to TAKE YOU DOWN! *lets the blast hit him full on* And you fell for my trap too! *the energy starts getting lighter and he fires it back.* IMMA FIRIN' MAH LAZER! BLAAAAAAHHH!**

The Glitch: _You do not understand one bit, do you?!_ *swallows energy and restores itself* _I CORRUPT ANYTHING THAT TOUCHES ME! UNLESS YOUR ENERGY BEAMS CAN MANIPULATE TIME AND SPACE ITSELF, I DO NOT BELIEVE YOU WILL BE ABLE TO DEFEAT ME! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!_

**To Mark: *Lucus* is the Kid you and trying to embarrass!  
**Mark: I'm pretty sure it's *Lucas* and *kid*. Unless you did that on purpose for some reason, then I don't get what you mean. I KNOW he's the one I'm trying to embarrass!

**To Mark: Just give Gabe the bedrock spear, cause then he can ride Felix and look like a boss.**

To Mark: Ah... And WHERE would I get a bedrock spear? Mods are hard to come by, you know.

**To the Glitch: I suggest hacking into Happy Wheels next, or Grand Theft Auto IV.**

The Glitch: _Nope! The first place I'm going after the Minecraft Dimension is Cookie Clicker! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!_

**To the Glitch: Your gloating attitude will be the end of you. Your numerous 'bah ah' and 'hahaha' just elongate your death. It is common sense. But wait, you don't have any.**

The Glitch: _FFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUU..._

**Well, for next time, what will Mark do now that he's completely alone in the Nether with no supplies except the shards of a diamond pickaxe, a flint and steel, plus some obsidian? Will Herobrine spare his soul? And what will become of Salutem and everybody else who fled Diamond University? Find out next chapter in VOiD!** ** But for now, this is Pastrinator64, and I'll see you later with chapter numbah twenty-five!**

***throws sugar bomb, disappears in a cloud of fine white sugar***

**Byyyyyeeeeee...**

**~Pastrinator64 [~]**


	25. Chapter 25: Inferno-Therapy

**Hello, this is Pastrinator64 with another chapter from VOiD. Homework, homework, HOMEWORK, PEOPLE! Gotta love freakin homework, right? As if eight hours of school wasn't enough...**

**Sorry I'm posting kinda late. I mean, it's late here, but maybe not where you guys are... I dunno, just saying.**

**Anyway, putting those thoughts out of mind, how about some replies to reviews?**

Replies To Reviews...

**Volcanic the hedgehog:** Dude, you know what? You always seem to be the first guy to review my story whenever I post a new chapter. You're ranking is moving upward, I can say that. Sooner or later you'll become my #1 fan!

**CSICreeper: **You're lucky that you got a Facebook at your age. I couldn't get one until I was thirteen. Shoot, that reminds me, I need to update my age on my profile; still haven't changed it. Must'a slipped my mind.

**BfheadGamer: **Have you figured out what Gabe was secretly crafting a while back? It'll be revealed in the chapter after this one here, so take an educated guess! :D

**Dirt BlockZ: **Okay, let me explain... Lucas was a completely normal kid at first, but when he went with Mark, at some point the Glitch wanted to keep an eye on him closely, so he used Lucas as a host. This was also to spy on Gabe, because the Glitch was suspecting the possibility of Salutem also keeping an eye on Mark for safety. In a way, they were cancelling each other out in the means of Mark's safety. But yes, they both needed to keep an eye on Mark, or for the Glitch, also set its sights on the Balance Core, plus Gabe in case he was just Salutem in disguise. Do I make enough sense? I'm pretty sure Rexum explains the whole thing better in the chapter after this one.

**AMinecraftMaster: **Surprisingly, I saw a few people who were expecting it... Weird. :/

**Now we can get back to the story, right? Yeah? I was hoping, because the plot of the story will be coming into play VERY soon. Now then, ON WITH THE STORY!**

**Hello, this is Pastrinator64 with another chapter from VOiD. Last time on VOiD, we watched as the whole of Operation Overkill came and went. Throughout it, Lucas was chased down by a swarm of silverfish, had a torrent of water dumped on him in his pjs, had his clothes stolen by somebody unknown, got shot in every single direction without warning on the inside of a dim hallway, attacked by zombies in an unused storage room, and dropped down a terrifyingly lengthy hole. After Mark gave his speech about Lucas's impudence in front of the entire school, Lucas made a grab for the Balance Core unexpectedly, and Gabe came in for the rescue. Chaos arose, for the Glitch unearthed itself from out of Lucas's body right before everyone's eyes and killed the entire staff of Diamond University in one swipe, feasting upon their souls. Finally, Gabe was also killed, and Salutem revealed itself from out of the body to fight off the Glitch so that Mark could grab the Balance Core and escape. Mark built an emergency Nether portal and made it through the other end before the Glitch could get its massive black wings on the ancient item it needed most. Now we watch as Mark explores the Nether, coming across several interesting things along the way.**

**Now, let the story commence!**

* * *

_Chapter 25: Ineffective Inferno-Therapy_

Vanessa raised Cantatis into the air as she ran and then pictured a jetpack in her head. The next moment, Cantatis glowed bright red and transformed into that same machine, and she slipped it on hastily. Then she took off into the air as fast as she could, desperate to get as far away from the Glitch and its horrific screeches of anger as possible. But as she flew away she could see the rest of the group below, and they were all running as well. She didn't want to go back down to the ground and risk her life, but then what would the others do?

Thankfully, there was a sudden flash of golden light from below and she could see Rexum appearing there, sending many golden clouds to pick everybody up. In less than ten seconds she was joined in the skies by her fellow teammates. All except Mark, of course. But where was Mark? Was he safe? Despite being annoyed by her brother all her life, Vanessa was scared for Mark. She didn't know where he was or if he was even alive, and it shook her deeply. For once she actually wanted to have her older brother by her side.

Rexum had finally gotten better, and although he looked weak on the outside, Vanessa could sense that he was still alert and well-aware more than ever. This was the second time they'd been attacked by the Glitch—except for the bombing of Invacuo City so long ago, but she wasn't even there. Suddenly, Rexum raised his staff with both hands and it glowed so brightly with gold that Vanessa turned away. She couldn't see what incantation he was performing, but without any warning she felt herself being sucked through what felt like an extremely powerful vacuum. In fact, she lost consciousness as the light surrounded her, but it wasn't a sickening feeling, it was rather a pleasant sensation of falling asleep.

* * *

Something slimy was touching her face.

Her immediate reaction was opening her eyes and making a sound of something like "bleck", which she very much did. Her vision was slightly blurry for some reason, but even so she could tell that she was in a dark cave, because she could see a dull orange light coming from what looked like the mouth of the cave, which stood twenty blocks away.

She couldn't move her arms, because they were encased in the same jello-like substance, and were sticking to the wall behind her, and same with her feet. Where had her shoes gone? The floor was burning beneath her feet, and she wanted to move, but she couldn't. The floor was extremely hot. VERY! She cried out in pain, desperate to move her feet, but they stay stuck together on the floor.

Then there was a sickly-sounding lurch from somewhere in the cave, and she jumped slightly. Almost as suddenly, a voice came from deep in the dark.

"Welcome to the Inferno-Therapy Clinic! Here at our clinic we will stop at nothing to give you the relief you really need!"

The voice was over-the-top cheery, and to be honest, it really creeped her out. Then the voice spoke again and said,

"Here, let us show you how we do treatment here at Inferno-Therapy Clinic!"

As though there were a projector above her head, a bright image was projected into midair for her to see. It was really bright, so it was hard to make out the words, and could only make sense of the images. First it showed a picture of a man with only his boxers on, and he looked ready to crap his undies because he was so scared.

"Here at Inferno-Therapy Clinic we use heat to relieve stress and pain!"

The images shifted and the man was now surrounded by four small magma cubes, and each of the creatures leaped forward and pinned him to an invisible wall. The man was then shown slowly being lowered into a pit of lava, starting from the bottom and going up. He screamed in agony, a scream that chilled her blood. When the horrible projection finally faded, she was left pressed up against the wall in darkness again, and her feet had gone numb from the pain of the hot floor.

"Now, we're VERY busy at the moment, so the earliest we can schedule you for is 5:00 sharp, which will occur in one hour! Please wait while we tend to our other customers! Goodbye, and thank you for coming to the Inferno-Therapy Clinic!"

The splurching and sloshing of what was probably a magma cube faded away as it hopped out of the cave. Now she was alone, completely surrounded by darkness, unsure of how she had gotten there, and scared out of her mind.

* * *

The ground was hot and sticky beneath Mark's hands as he laid face-down on the ground. He knew he was in the Nether, he knew he had miraculously escaped from the Glitch's dark clutches, but what he didn't know was how the Glitch had disguised itself as Lucas that whole time. Wait, HAD Lucas been a fictional character the whole time? But then how would've Mrs. Bailey Creeper given birth to him and raised him? No, there must have been one point in time when the Glitch wanted to spy on Mark and decided to take Lucas as its host body.

Finally, when Mark could not stand the heat pricking at his face and palms he sat up. Yes, he was definitely in the Nether. He was sitting near the edge of a deep ravine that stretched far into the smoke-filled distance. Around him were lots of zombie pigmen, but they were all just looking at him suspiciously, not attacking.

Mark stood up and brushed himself off hastily, and then looked around quickly for any hostile mobs such as Ghasts, Blaze or magma cubes. When he didn't see any, he decided to start walking. He knew for a fact that if he opened the portal back up he could be dumped anywhere in the entire world of Minecraft, and the LAST thing he needed was getting lost in somewhere unknown. If he had to pick and choose, he'd stay in the Nether for now, because the Nether was a lot smaller than the Overworld, so he'd have a better chance of finding somebody else.

So that's what he did. He walked across the steaming red stone for a while, drowning in his own sweat. He wanted to rest, but since he couldn't find anything to lay on that wasn't singing hot, he just kept on moving forward.

* * *

Herobrine screamed angrily and blasted fire through his mouth, singeing Carl in the face.

"CARL, YOU GO RIGHT BACK TO GENERAL BLACKFLAME AND TELL HIM TO GET ME AN ACTUAL REPORT ON THE GLITCH'S STATUS! YOU TELL HIM THAT LORD HEROBRINE DOESN'T WANT THE SCUMMY ACCOUNTS HE'S BEEN SENDING, AND THAT HE'D BETTER WISE UP QUICK OR HE'S FIRED! NOW GO!"

A darkened-faced servant clapped a clammy hoof to his head to extinguish the small flame that had ignited what few hairs he had growing from his scalp, and then hurried off frantically, not wanting to be blasted again. Once he had gone, Herobrine continued with his frustration-fueled pacing. But just walking in a line wasn't enough, and he got so angry that he screamed again, blasting flames onto his throne, setting it aflame and startling his wife Emily, who stood near to the soulsand-crafted chair. She walked forward and put a comforting hand on her infuriated husband's shoulder and attempted to console him.

"Herb, I know that you're upset, but if you just keep letting yourself get angry like this, well... You won't make any progress. I suggest taking it easy; take a dip in the Magma Springs to help you relax."

Herobrine sighed and said,

"You're right, you're right..." he snapped his fingers and the flames surrounding his throne extinguished.

Herobrine walked back around his throne and entered through the open doorway that stood there. He stepped through it and found himself back in the steaming-hot poolroom of lava that stretched forty blocks down. He took off all his clothing and folded them up on the edge of the pool, and then he lowered himself down into the lava. It was a very pleasant temperature to him, and although it may boil the average man, he found it very soothing.

While he lay in the pool of lava he cleared his mind of everything about war so that he may relax fully. Emily's advice was actually working, because now Herobrine no longer thought about the war declarations nor the activities of the Glitch. He couldn't even think about thinking about it!

"Herobrine! What's the news on the war declarations and activities of the Glitch?"

Herobrine opened his eyes and jerked his head to the right and yelled so angrily that his breath came out in a glowing fireball, which disintegrated the unfortunately curious Blaze that had been hovering next to him. He may be able to stop thinking about the Glitch, but what good would that be when everyone in his kingdom was asking the same questions he was trying to avoid?! Life was impossible, it seemed.

Just thinking about this made him even more frustrated, so to release his anger he let out a terrible yell that shook the entire Nether.

* * *

The gravel floor beneath Mark suddenly rumbled violently, and he yelped an unmanly little noise as it fell, and he was sent falling through the air. He screamed as he went, flailing his arms hopelessly, but then finally landed in a massive pile of something squishy and hot. When he stood up and spat whatever the thing was out of his mouth, he looked down and saw that he had faceplanted in a massive pile of Netherwart.

He rubbed his tongue, trying to get the lumpy plant taste off his taste buds. But while he was doing so, he realized that the patch he was standing on wasn't naturally formed from the inside of a Nether fortress, but rather it was a perfect square plot of Netherwart that was 7x7 on the ground with some lava holes here and there. Mark immediately turned around to see what he thought he might see, and he was right, for there was a house made of cobblestone sitting six blocks from the Netherwart farm on which he stood.

Mark immediately ran to the house and entered. It was a small house, but it had chests lined up along the walls, anvils, crafting tables, plus another Nether portal. He had finally found a house! Now all he had to do was wait...

Mark checked his watch every now and then, but it was useless, for his dial was spinning out of control. Apparently, time did not matter in the Nether. Finally, after waiting for what seemed like a half hour, Mark stepped back outside and looked around for some sign of a person's trail. In fact, there was a convenient path of cobblestone built into the floor that stretched around back of the base of the mountain he stood by. Naturally, he decided to follow the path in hope to find its creator walking along it as well.

He followed the path for twenty minutes, walking all the way up the mountain until he reached a tiny cave that had formed at the peak and went down inside the mountain. Mark walked down the cobblestone steps and was thankful for the torches that the owner had put down. He kept going down for another few minutes, but then the ground leveled out and he entered another cave. The cave was a bit larger than the hole that led down to it, and far on the other end was its mouth, leading back to the outside of the Nether.

"Hello?" Mark said, making his voice echo off the cave walls.

He heard somebody in the cave make a startled noise, and he felt heavy breathing down his neck. Mark whipped out his diamond sword and whirled around, holding it out to whoever was there. He heard a girl shriek right in front of him.

"PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!"

Then the girl in the dark started weeping and murmuring to herself.

"Hey, are you okay?" asked Mark, feeling forward in the dark.

He felt something soft in front of him, and whatever it was retracted immediately.

"Don't touch me! Get away!" she screamed in a warning tone.

Mark felt around to her side, and then felt something like warm jello.

"What are you doing here? Just tell me what happened and I can help you." he murmured softly, careful not to touch the girl.

"A bunch of magma cubes pinned me to this wall by my hands and feet! Now my bare feet are burning on the ground! It hurts!"

Mark crouched down in the ground and felt around.

"Here, I'll get those magma cubes off of you, just hold still."

Mark patted around the ground until he felt the jello-like stuff again, and it suddenly turned hot.

"Okay, now I'm going to cut it off with my sword, but I won't hurt you."

"Just get it off m-me, please..."

Mark felt the hot jello with one hand and then brought his sword down with the other, cutting said magma cube with a splurch, and the little creature squealed in pain as it died.

"Welcome to the Inferno-Treatment Clinic!"

Without any warning, four slimy magma cubes leaped from out of nowhere and tackled him to the wall, pinning him by his hands and feet, and he immediately dropped his sword, hearing it clatter somewhere at his feet.

"Dr. Ash is ready for your appointment!"

From next to Mark, he heard the girl whisper feverishly,

"Oh no, oh no, oh no..."

Suddenly, the floor dropped beneath them and they started descending down an extremely dark tunnel. Unable to move or even see, Mark just whispered calming words to the other girl to comfort her, but more to comfort himself, as he didn't know what would happen to him.

"It's okay, we'll be fine..." he muttered under his breath, blinking as his eyes attempted to adjust to the pitch-blackness around them.

Then they emerged from the dark tunnel into a small 10x10x10 room with a floor completely made of lava. Mark turned his head awkwardly to the left to get a good look of the girl. She looked like she was the same age as Vanessa, and she was really small. By the looks of it she was part Asian, so her eyes looked like it, but the rest of her face seemed normal, and her skin had a golden tan. She had a head of curly reddish-brown hair and small hazelnut eyes. Even though she was kind of shrimpy, she looked like she hadn't quite lost the prominent round belly of childhood. For some reason she had been stripped of everything except her undergarments.

_"Geez, magma cubes seemed so innocent before now, but after witnessing this, what am I supposed to say?! Besides, how the heck are these things even talking..."_ wondered Mark.

The young girl kept looking with a horrified expression at the lava below them. Just as they started moving, another small magma cube hopped forward from out of nowhere and pinned the girl's only free foot back to the wall before she could kick it away. She screamed again, jerking the rest of her body forward as to free herself, but failed. Mark's panic was also setting it, because he now had to be afraid of two things: one, that these creepy magma cubes would strip him down to his boxers in front of a girl he hadn't before, and two, that he'd be deep-fried in lava and die for real. Both outcomes seemed all-too real.

The magma cubes connecting them to the wall stopped moving, leaving them stuck to the wall, just one block away from the lava pit below. Suddenly, a pillar rose up out of the lava nearby, and sitting on it was a medium-sized magma cube.

"Hello, my name is Dr. Ash, and I'll be your treatment specialist today."

The girl next to him lowered her head, letting her hair drape down over herself, and she let her tears fall into the lava and hiss as they evaporated.

"Don't be scared, we always bring in new people, and their treatments have gone perfectly well!" said Dr. Ash in a singsong voice.

Mark knew he had to get out of there fast, and so he tried reasoning with the doctor, which was all he COULD do.

"Dr. Ash, we're not from the Nether, so if you dip us in the lava we'll burn to a crisp!"

A little black slit opened up beneath Dr. Ash's mouth and it curled upward, which must've been a smile.

"Exactly!"

Mark's stomach churned instantly, contributing to his dizziness—along with the steam and smoke, obviously. He so wished he had his sword at the moment. Dr. Ash shifted slightly on his pillar to stare directly at the crying Eurasian next to Mark.

"I'll start with the young lady." he said cheerfully.

The next moment, the magma cubes that connected the girl to the pillar slowly inched downward, lowering her to the lava. The lava was coming dangerously close to her feet, and she started screaming. Mark squeezed his eyes shut and did the only thing he could do...

_"Farixz, please, if you can hear me, get us out of here!"_

The air was suddenly filled with bloodcurdling screams unlike any other, and when Mark opened his eyes he saw the bottoms of the girl's feet just touch the lava. That EXACT moment, something extraordinary happened: from out of nowhere, the lava drained from the room and was replaced with water, and this water didn't evaporate instantly. The magma cubes that held Mark and the other girl to the wall instantly died, sending them both into the water. While underwater, Mark felt something materialize in his hand, and it was smooth and cold. His sword had returned, and as soon as he got a good grip on it he bounced off the bottom of the pool and rocketed upward with his sword straight up. When he broke through the surface, Dr. Ash was skewered by his sword, and three mini doctors burst out, falling into the water to drown.

Mark climbed in a sodden mess onto the Nether brick pillar. The girl was not there, but when he looked back down into the water he saw her thrashing around in the water below. He took action and did a dive into the water, grabbed her arm, and then swam with her to the surface. Her face was screwed up in immense pain and she was moaning. Mark lifted himself onto the pillar and then grabbed her hand, pulling her up as well. As soon as her feet touched the platform she screamed and slipped, almost falling back into the water. Mark stopped her from falling and then sat her down on the pillar instead. She started crying again.

"Are you okay?" he asked quietly, trying to keep her calm.

The girl sobbed and pointed at her feet, which were outstretched as far away from the pillar as possible. When Mark looked over at them he gulped and saw immediately what the problem was. The bottoms of her feet were crisp from being dipped in the lava, and were black with 3rd degree burns. Mark sighed and then looked back at the girl, who was now staring at him pleadingly.

"What am I supposed to do now? I can't walk!" she protested as fresh tears came to her already-reddened eyes.

Mark grinned and said,

"I'll carry you, no problem."

So that's exactly what he did. Mark lifted the small girl with both arms and then looked around for an exit. Of course, there was none. So instead, Mark closed his eyes and whispered his prayers to Farixz again.

_"Farixz, can you get us home, please?"_

He was answered again, for the next moment he felt himself traveling at the speed of light and then stopping again, although now he stood holding the girl while standing in the Netherwart patch near the cobblestone house. Mark carried her all the way to the house and then stepped inside. He set her down on the bed in the corner of the room and she lay down flat, being careful not to touch anything with her feet lest she feel the immense pain once more.

"Have you got any sponges or wool or something? Water buckets?" asked Mark, moving among the chests.

The girl whispered quietly in a voice that was now barely audible.

"There's wool and a water bucket in the top right chest."

Mark stood on his tip-toes to see inside the high-laced chest, and quickly located the items he was looking for. He set down the water bucket and then dipped two wool block in the bucket. As long as he didn't place the water on the ground he'd be fine. Once they were soaked well enough, he walked back over to the girl and slowly brought the cloth to her feet. As soon as they touched she screamed again in pain and thrashed, kicking Mark in the nose on accident. Mark stumbled back and slammed into the chests, groaning and holding his face.

"Sorry!" she murmured in a loud whisper.

Mark held the wool to his own nose to stop the blood that had started to flow. Through a plugged-sounding tone he said,

"Dat's okay, I'b bine..."

When the bloody nose had cleared up a few minutes later, he sighed and looked back at her.

"So, you're sure you're okay?"

"Yes..." she murmured shyly, looking down at her bedspread.

"What's your name?" asked Mark, purely out of curiosity.

The girl looked back up at him with her reddish-brown locks hanging over her eyes. She whispered something that wasn't audible at all.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Mark asked politely.

"Olivia." she murmured as blush entered her cheeks.

Mark grinned and held out a hand to her, and she shook it politely.

"My name's Mark." he bent down and examined her burned feet. "Gee, Olivia, I don't know how to heal this kind of thing. Oh wait! I know, let's get you some food."

He searched among the chests and quickly located some cooked fish, which he brought over to Olivia, who looked down as he approached. He knelt down next to her and slowly fed her the fish. Once she had finished three whole pieces, he walked back over to her feet, but saw that they had not healed up even the slightest.

"Okay, so food won't work either..."

Mark pondered what he could possibly to do help Olivia out, but his mind drew a blank. Suddenly, Mickey's voice echoed inside Mark's head, although it came in with lots of static, almost like a long-distance phone call.

_"Master, what is it you ask?"_

Mark glanced at his back but saw that he had no Blockpack, for he had left it back at Diamond University. Mark quickly occupied himself with bending down and trying to tie his shoe so that he could talk to Mickey.

_"Dude, you can hear me from that far away?"_

Mickey spoke again, clear as ever.

_"Is true, yes. Our connection will never break. Also, I know you need help healing girl's feet, I help you."_

Mark paused for a moment and considered the matter.

_"You can help me? How?"_

_"I know friends, friends heal feet, they good at healing."_

_"Just tell me how to find them."_

_"Make call of the slime, like this... Wee, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, wee! Like that, and slime friends come help. Go to Overworld to summon them first."_

_"Thanks, Mickey. I knew I could count on you."_

Mickey gave a proud little sigh inside his head. Suddenly, another thought came to Mark's mind and he said,

_"Mickey, where are the others?"_

_"Oh, you mean Master's friends? Master's friends look for Master, wizard is searching for Master, he will find. We will see each other soon, yes?"_

_"I guess so. Well, bye Mickey."_

_"Goodbye Master."_

And then the connection went blank, and Mark stood up from his crouching position and looked back at Olivia.

"Hey, I just remembered some friends of mine who might be able to help the burns heal."

Olivia nodded silently and then said,

"Can you, um, take me to them, please?"

Mark sighed and walked next to her, bending over and saying,

"Alright, I'm going to pick you up again."

He lifted the little girl with both arms and then stepped towards the Nether portal.

"They're in the Overworld, though, so..."

He took a pause, waited for Olivia to nod again, and then stepped through the purple tiles of the portal. There was that moment of sickening travel, but the next moment he came back through to the other side and felt his feet hit wet grass. They had landed on the border between a swamp and a desert.

Mark carefully set Olivia down on the nearby sand and she kept her legs stretched out so she wouldn't hurt herself again. Mark stood up straight and looked down at her.

"Okay, now this may sound like bull, but I swear I'm telling the truth when I say that my friends who'll help us are, well... Slimes."

That exact instant, Olivia's face froze with fear and she stared horrified at Mark.

"Don't worry, they're nice." he said, holding his hands outstretched and shaking them.

Mark lifted his head again and then made the call that Mickey had suggested, although he did it with slight embarrassment.

"Wee, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, wee!"

He felt like a complete idiot saying it, but he did it anyway. At first, all was quiet.

"They didn't come..." murmured Olivia, almost relieved.

Mark waited impatiently, wanting the silence to end, and then it did. A few seconds later, hopping sounds came from behind him, and when he turned around he was startled to see an entire swarm of twenty or so slimes of different sizes jumping towards him and Olivia quickly.

Before Mark decided about backing away, he suddenly heard the slimes starting to speak on their own.

_"Is that Mark Cobweb?"_

_"Yes, it is Mark Cobweb!"_

_"I can't believe it! Mark Cobweb called us!"_

_"Who else, dummy? Who'd you think he was, Herobrine?"_

Then Mark realized that they weren't even speaking out loud, but it was just inside his head, just like Mickey usually did. Why was it that he kept hearing non-anthropomorphic creatures speak? Maybe he was just crazy...

But while he was thinking, the entire swarm of different-sized slimes formed a ring around Mark and Olivia. A large-sized magma cube hopped forward from the back and landed in front of them, making Olivia give a frightened yelp. Mark heard a hearty laugh echo in his head and then a deep voice say,

_"OHO! Hello, Ultra Hero! MY name is Chief Flub! We have long awaited the day when the greatest antagonist of the Divination Dimensions would cry for help! Now, what needs healing here, eh?"_

There was a very pregnant pause, but then Mark just looked back over his shoulder at Olivia. The great Chief Flub hopped over to Olivia, who cowered in fright. He bent his massively slimy cubed body over and peered with squinty eyes at the blackness that covered her feet. He let out a curious grumbling noise, but then turned around on the spot and boomed,

_"Bella and Ella! C'mere for a moment, girls!"_

Two small slimes bounced forward excitedly, practically vibrating with joy. In chorus they said,

_"Yes, Chief Flub?"_

The chief turned back around and looked down at the burns on Olivia's feet.

_"Heal the poor girl up straight away! It looks like she's fallen into some lava, the unfortunate thing."_

Olivia looked up at the massive slime with apprehension, but Mark gave her a look of assurance.

"They can heal the burns, okay?" said Mark in a slow, comforting voice.

Chief Flub gave a hearty belly-laugh and continued to speak.

_"Oh, we can heal her, alright! Bella and Ella, I've already said it; heal up this poor girl's feet!"_ the two small slimes hopped forward towards Olivia, who started to shy away.

"Is it going to hurt?" she asked timidly, looking unsurely at the creatures that bounced before her.

_"Ha! Does it hurt? Of course not! What do you think we're made of, aftershave?"_

Mark relayed the message to Olivia, and her face turned extremely red.

"C'mon, it's better than the burn, right?" said Mark, shrugging at her.

Olivia looked from Bella and Ella to Chief Flub and then to Mark. She sighed and nodded slowly. The next moment, the two small slimes at her feet formed indents at their fronts that were shaped like footprints. Slowly, Olivia inserted a foot into each of the indents, and they slipped on like shoes. Then the small slimes got to work.

Mark watched in amazement as the black skin on Olivia's soles began to dissolve inside the two small slimes' gelatinous bodies. Within a minute of the process, slimes Bella and Ella slid off her feet and dissolved the rest of the blackness, then moved back to admire their handiwork. Just like that, Olivia's skin had been restored to its healthy form.

Olivia smiled gratefully and lifted her foot, staring at it with an amazed expression. Chief Flub attempted to bow over his girth at her.

_"It has been my pleasure, young lady."_

Mark immediately turned back to the chief and remembered his question he wanted to ask.

_"Chief Flub?"_ he thought. _"You wouldn't happen to know where Mickey might be, would you? He's traveling with a group of people, and I need to get back to them."_

Chief Flub looked over at Mark and his tiny little cube mouth curled upward—even though it probably shouldn't have been able to in reality.

_"Mickey? Oh yes, the little silverfish! He's a friend of mine, you see. I can contact him for you, if you'd like."_

_"Yes, please."_

Another pause occurred, and during it Olivia spoke again to Mark.

"Mark, what's it doing?"

Mark turned and looked down at her for a moment, muttering,

"Focusing, I guess. He's trying to find my group; I was separated a couple hours ago from them, and he might know where they are... Let's just wait a moment."

The next instant, Chief Flub spoke telepathically to Mark again.

_"Ah, yes. I have just spoken with Mickey for a moment, and by the quality of our connection I would say that he is roughly one and a half miles west of our position."_

Mark went "yessssss" and pumped his fist. How lucky was that?! He was so close! He quickly ran over to Olivia and got her onto her feet.

"Okay, my group is just a mile and a half from here, so we REALLY need to go."

Before Olivia could protest, he pulled her forward, said a quick goodbye to the clan of slimes and Chief Flub, and zoomed west, his heels slapping into the sand of the desert. Even though it had only been a few hours, Mark felt like he had been away from his friends for years. Either way, he wanted nothing more than to be with them, and this thought kept him going as he crossed the scorching sands of the desert.

* * *

**Finally! It felt like years, didn't it? Well, it did to me.**

**Anyway, how about some QAA?**

**To The Glitch: *Gasps desperately for air* Ha! You just told me your weakness! I have *gasp* to tell *gasp* someone, for everyone who was just killed, for all of the structures. *brings two fingers to forehead and vanishes to an unknown place*  
**The Glitch: _Aha... Alright then, I shall be waiting RIGHT here for your return! Mwahahaha... Mwaha... Ha._**  
To Herobrine: *telepathically* Please listen! I have important news of The Glitch!**

Herobrine: GAAAAAHHHHH! I CAN'T STAND THESE PERPETUAL CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THE GLITCH I'M SICK OF THIS! *blasts fire into your hair out of anger*

**To the Glitch: You so stupid I bet you couldn't tell a female Kel Dor from a half-Nautolan, half-Cathar!**

The Glitch:_ Ha! Why, that is such a trivial thing to know! Why, I just happen to know the difference is... Er..._ *searching databanks*

**To Salutem: Were you Gabe the whole time, or did you just inhabit his body? Same with your evil twin?!**

Salutem: I dwelled inside of the body locally known as Gabe in order to keep an eye on Mark. I knew that the Glitch was hiding inside Lucas ever since the kid threatened me down in that cave while I was mining. Things just haven't been going well for me... *sighs heavily* And now I'm on the run again. Or slither, or fly, or whatever you want to call it.**  
To the Glitch: Don't mess with the Cookie Clicker Dimension, man. Forces beyond. Forces beyond. Soon you will become slave to the cookie. *pushes cookie and teleports away.* Have fuuun!**

The Glitch: _Watch this..._ *clicks cookie once, instantly clicking it an infinite amount of times instead* _I just made the worldwide high-score. Whoopdeedoop, what fun. Now then, back to destroying! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!_

**To Mark: I feel bad for you, so here's a portal gun and companion cube.**

Mark: *imitates Tobuscus* And all I want for Christmas is the gun from portal. Amen, Toby. *laughs* Anybody else remember that?

**Well, for next time, how will Raven, Kelsey and Astrid react to seeing ANOTHER girl appearing on the scene? Will we accidently end up with a massive harem? What happened to all the boys, huh? Once Mark reunited with his group, will they all be able to get to their goal before time runs up? And who would've guessed that Herobrine's real name is Herb? Find out next chapter in VOiD!** **But for now, this is Pastrinator64, and I'll see you later with chapter numbah twenty-six!**

***throws sugar bomb, disappears in a cloud of fine white sugar***

**Byyyyyeeeeee...**

**~Pastrinator64 [~]**


	26. Chapter 26: Extinguishing The Flame

**Hello, this is Pastrinator64 with another chapter from VOiD. I appreciate that you guys have been patient with me, and I promise this: the story line will FINALLY, TRULY come into place in this chapter. Mark and his friends will closer to the Glitch than EVER before.**

**Anyway, before the story continues, I am going to reply to your reviews.**

Replies To Reviews...

**CSICreeper: **That's actually happened to me before, but only when I first got a Facebook. Basically, I would go to the login screen, and just on that page it would always freeze instantly, and there wasn't anything I could do about it.

**Dirt BlockZ: **Olivia really isn't an important character, actually.

**Volcanic the hedgehog: **Oh, that's fine! :D

**BfheadGamer: **My favorite Tobuscus adventure is either the one where they fight the zombies or the Manventure.

**Anyway, let's get ON WITH ZE STORY!**

**Hello, this is Pastrinator64 with another chapter from VOiD. Last time on VOiD we watched as Mark's friends fled the scene at Diamond University. Meanwhile, Mark himself explored the Nether for any sign of people. MEANWHILE, meanwhile, Herobrine was raging inside his Nether fortress about the waging war, unable to avoid questions about it from his subjects. Then we went back to Mark's POV and watched as he found an empty house. He explored further and found a girl stuck inside a cave, and he too ended up being taken captive by insane magma cubes. He and the girl almost got incinerated by lava during a therapy session, but Mark got their butts saved because of his prayer to Farixz. He took the girl home, and found out that her name was Olivia while trying to find a way to heal her singed feet. Finally, Mickey contacted him from far away in the Overworld and directed him to a tribe of healing slimes he knew, who healed Olivia's feet. Now that Mark is back up in the Overworld, he knows exactly where his friends are, so we get to watch as he rushes to meet them, and as several interesting conversations break out between him and the two girls who want to win his heart.**

**Now, let the story commence!**

* * *

_Chapter 26: Extinguishing The Flame_

They ran for a full minute, and then, just as they reached the edge of a tall sand dune, Mark noticed a group of people walking around far off in the distance. He quickly pointed a finger towards them for Olivia to see, and she squinted her eyes to see properly.

"There they are!" he said excitedly.

"But I don't—"

Mark grasped her by the hand and they ran down the other end of the sand dune. He wouldn't stop until they reached the group again. Mark and Olivia ran at top speed—well, Olivia was dragged more than she ran out of her own free will—towards the others, who slowly became clearer and closer in the distance. Finally, when they were just forty blocks from the traveling group, somebody shouted out to them. It sounded unnervingly like Raven, and Mark stopped in his tracks. Olivia hopped from one foot to the other.

"Can we keep moving, please? The sand is hot..." she said in a voice that had yet to ever become heightened.

Mark could see a dark figure racing towards him. It was Raven and her flowing black hair, which trailed behind her as she flung herself towards Mark. Olivia kept hopping from foot to foot, and when Mark noticed that she was doing so, he snapped back into reality and said,

"Okay, I'll just carry you until we can find you some shoes."

This was less out of concern for Olivia, but more for the sake of his love life. If Raven saw him carrying another girl, she'd get the wrong idea and maybe stop liking him. He just wanted to get back to Kelsey; although, he still hadn't figured out how to do so, exactly. Mark carried Olivia across the sand, and in under twenty seconds Raven finally reached them. She froze in her tracks when she saw Mark carrying Olivia. She put on a sneer when she glanced at Olivia and said,

"Who's the slut?"

Mark's mouth dropped in horror. Olivia's reaction was more emotional, and tears leapt into her eyes as she jumped from Mark's arms and ran crying in the other direction. He whirled around and shouted out to her,

"Wait! Olivia!"

But Olivia was much too fast, and within seconds she was out of sight, and he never saw her again. Mark whirled on Raven and screamed,

"WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!"

Raven smiled with a somewhat wicked look and walked towards Mark.

"Hey, it's no big deal! Besides, we don't want another ugly face intruding in on our relationship, right?"

Raven put a hand on Mark's shoulder and started to pull him forward, but Mark pushed her away. He had had enough!

"That's it! I can't do this anymore! I couldn't in the first place!" screamed Mark, his voice loud and resonating and ANGRY. "Raven, I don't want to be in a relationship with somebody who goes off calling perfectly pretty girls sluts! I don't want to be in a relationship with someone who wants to take it to a whole 'nother level when it's not the right time! You have been driving me CRAZY with all this attention! The woman who matters most in my life is KELSEY! KELSEY is the whole reason I'm even surviving now, and if I don't have her I don't know what I'll do! I just can't be in a relationship with somebody I haven't known for a long time! Kelsey is MORE of a friend than you'll ever be to me! She and I have a long past, we both came from the same first life! We both lived on Earth! We were already in a relationship while we were there! And you know what happened?! I KILLED HER! It was my fault that she ran into the back of a truck, and do you honestly think I can handle losing her a SECOND TIME?!"

He stopped and caught his breath, his chest rising and falling rapidly, his head pulsing. Raven stood transfixed with shock, her normally cool violet eyes alit with horror. Mark sighed angrily and looked her straight in the eye.

"Raven, I can't be in a relationship with you. My life is falling apart without Kelsey, and I really can NOT lose her again... I'm sorry."

Mark walked past her without looking back. He knew he couldn't be soft towards her any longer. He just could not. He kept walking until he reached the rest of the group. They had been attempting to watch them from a distance. Adrian quickly approached him with a skeptical look and said,

"Er... What did ya do ter Raven? Wasn't she yer new fiancée?"

Mark shook his head grumpily and looked down at his feet, fixing his gaze.

"Let's just say we broke up, that it is by my choice, and that I don't want to talk about it. Okay?"

Adrian squinted into the blinding sands over Mark's shoulder, shading his eyes with his frying pan.

"It looks like she running the other way."

Mark turned around for a moment and saw that Raven was indeed running away. She ran for another ten seconds before she disappeared over the top of the sand dune. Mark turned back around and walked with the rest of the group.

"Forget it. She can run away if she wants, I don't care." he mumbled.

Before Mark could react, a blur of curly red hair flew towards him and caught him in a hug.

"MARK!"

Mark looked down and to his surprise saw Vanessa hugging him around the middle.

"I w-was worried you'd d-died!"

Mark stroked her hair comfortingly and said,

"It's okay, I'm fine..."

He was still in a bad mood, but for Vanessa's sake he acted consoling. When Vanessa let go of him she looked up into his face with reddened eyes.

"W-what happened to y-you?"

Mark gave a quick summary of the events since his disappearance, starting with him creating the Nether portal and ending with the part where he found them again. He skipped the whole Raven thing; it was better to save that one for later. Vanessa sniffled and backed up, respecting Mark's space. Then she smiled weakly and said,

"I know y-you've been missing K-Kelsey, but... Well, just see for yourself."

She backed away, and the next moment Kelsey came forth. She and Mark stood a foot apart, both red in the face, both extremely awkward. Kelsey's lip quivered as she looked at Mark, and then she started crying. Mark wasn't sure what was the right thing to do, so he slowly walked forward and carefully put his arms around her. Even if she didn't turn out to be his girlfriend, he at least wanted her to be his friend, and that meant staying with her. Kelsey cried for a good two minutes without speaking. Then she looked at Mark with even redder eyes than Vanessa had.

"Mark, while you were over there w-with Raven, I heard you y-yelling, and... And I h-heard every word. I need y-y-you to tell m-me now," she pulled him close so that they were touching noses and both staring deep into each other's eyes. "what happened? I need you to tell me exactly what happened between you and Raven this whole time. I NEED to know, even if it'll k-kill me..."

Mark looked around at the rest of the group. They had been diminished a great deal. There was him, Vanessa, Kelsey, Adrian, Rexum, and Astrid, and that was it. Even so, he decided that it was about time everyone knew exactly what happened, so he told them all. He told them everything that ever happened in his history with Raven. He started with Lucas's nasty dare, going through every detail of Raven's high acts of love towards him, all the times he ever wanted to get back to Kelsey so desperately, and ended with repeating the words he had said to Raven just four minutes ago. Once his tale was over, everyone remained silent in respect.

Mark looked back down at Kelsey, who still looked up at him with widened eyes. But her eyes were now calmed, not worried, and she seemed as though a burden had been lifted from her. She closed her eyes, took a few deep breaths, and then pressed her face into Mark's chest.

"I'm just happy to have you again."

Mark smiled and hugged her as well, embracing her tightly.

"Me too."

* * *

The Glitch roared in anger as it flew this way and that through the Void Palace. It crashed through buildings, breaking them and avalanching the virus thugs that slithered below. It continued to screech, flying this way and that, and then rocketed back to its throne room. It crashed through the side wall, burying the throne inside with black rubble.

_"HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN?!"_

The Glitch screeched again and launched out a wing, picking up the throne and throwing it at a wall, shattering it into pieces.

_"DAMN!"_

Ben emerged from the darkness in the room's corner. He was now completely blackened; there was no longer an ounce of good left in him.

_"Lord Glitch..."_ said Ben, bowing down with his dark wings folded together.

The Glitch whirled around and towered over Ben.

_"DO NOT SPEAK TO ME! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"_

It launched forward and slammed another wall with its massive wings, destroying it completely, and half of the throne room collapsed down inside its tower, unable to support its own weight. The Glitch stood high inside the half-destroyed tower and looked down at its thousands of virus subjects. They marched in straight rows, not blinking, no free will at all. How minor of clones they were.

_"How could I have let Salutem go?!"_ it growled, eyes flashing so angrily that ten rows of viruses below him disintegrated on the spot.

Ben approached the Glitch cautiously and spoke quietly as to keep from upsetting it again.

_"Lord Glitch, if you focus upon the past, nothing will progress. You must focus on retrieving the Balance Core and killing Markus Cobweb."_

Just then, three people burst in through the doors of the demolished throne room. Those three people were the cloaked figures of Jenx, Brizarg, and Eragariss.

"Lord Glitch!" declared Jenx, rushing forward to his ultimate master and getting down on his knees. "We have located the Markus Cobweb and the Balance Core!"

The Glitch spun around and glared down at Jenx with malice that made him and his two companions flinch.

_"Where?! Tell me where or die this instant! SPEAK UP!"_

Jenx swallowed hard and tried to keep the Glitch's horrifyingly fixating gaze.

"Th-they are approaching the Void Transport from the east. They have only nine and three quarters miles until they reach it, and then they will surely travel up and come here. They must know that you are the only one with connection to the Aether, and I believe that their goal is to return the Balance Core back to its pedestal in the Aether Palace."

The Glitch's eyes flared and its bent down, its eyes only an inch from Jenx's terrified face.

_"You idiot! Of course they know, it's in the third chapter of the Divination of Dimensions; the Core Saga! Mark would have surely read that chapter already!"_ the Glitch swiveled around and looked down upon its shadowy kingdom. _"Now, there is the matter of stopping these fools..."_

Jenx crawled closer to the Glitch with expecting eyes.

"Please, Lord Glitch, we have prepared an attack that will surely wipe out Mark and his foolish friends! Just watch, I beg of you!"

_"Alright, let me see this "attack" of yours."_ muttered the Glitch, turning back around to see.

Jenx, Brizarg, and Eragariss all came together and performed their "attack", and it was so great that they pulsated with a Dark aura that seemed impenetrable. The Glitch's eyes widened in delight and it folded its wings together, making a loud clap.

_"Ah, yes! That will be perfect!"_ it declared wickedly, its grin broadening. _"Now, how about you go and put your "attack" to the test. Kill Mark and his companions and then bring the Balance Core to me. I WILL achieve my perfect form; I will see to it that everything goes according to plan. And," _the Glitch looked down upon Jenx._ "I will give you a small portion of my power as a gift for when you fight the Ultra Hero and his Great Heroes. This is your final chance, do not let me down, Jenx."_

Once he received his power, Jenx and his two thugs zoomed out the door hurriedly. The Glitch swiveled back around and stared down at its merciless warrior viruses, which still slithered in straight rows. They were merely pawns in the wide scheme of things, really...

_"Lord Glitch, I sense that you desire to launch the next attack now."_ murmured Ben from behind.

The Glitch's criminally corrupt smile stretched again.

_"Mmmhmm, I do believe you are correct, Ben. It is about time I gain a little more power by sucking up the Redness Soul, don't you think? Soon enough, I will have obtained all three Souls, and THEN my master plan will be complete! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"_

The Glitch spread its massive wings on either side, letting their crackling energy burst forth in a blinding flash. Every one of the thousands of virus minions below stopped moving and swiveled around, facing upward towards their creator.

_"All hail Lord Glitch!"_ they chimed monotonously.

With its wings spread wide, the Glitch's slender, black, double-ended scythe materialized in its clutches.

_"Ah, my faithful warriors! We rise again tonight, for it the time has come to launch our second attack, and I know you ALL are very, very hungry!"_

Bloodthirsty cries blasted from the dark mass of black bodies and red eyes below.

_"Now, my wonderful minions, GO! THE TIME HAS COME TO CONQUER!"_

* * *

Somewhere in the distance, "All The Right Moves" by One Republic began to play.

Mark let go of Kelsey and looked around at the rest of his group. They had finally gotten back on track. No longer were there distractions to keep them from moving on with the quest. Also, Mark sensed that they were nearer than ever to their next destination.

"So, did anybody grab my Blockpack?" asked Mark, looking around.

Astrid suddenly popped up from the back of the crowd holding his Blockpack. He had almost forgotten that she'd come with them, so he was slightly surprised. Mark walked forward and took his Blockpack, immediately searching through it for the item he hadn't used in so long that was supposed to be his key to survival. He then pulled out the Master Compass and held it before them. Watching it, he noticed that it was vibrating and pulsing ever so lightly. The black and white needle inside spun around twice and then faced west. He knew what this meant; nobody needed to tell him that they were getting close to the Void Transport.

Mark then took the Balance Core from out of his hotbar and stared at it. He had to hold it in his left hand; he'd burn himself on the still-heated, disfigured, glass bottle without the Glove of Glad's protection. The glass had fused itself over the Balance Core inside like a protective layer after being touched by the Glitch—Mark wasn't sure if this was a good change or not, but it probably wasn't.

"Alright, we're getting very close to the Void Transport now." he said aloud, glancing at every one of his teammates and friends.

He looked up into the sky and saw the sun starting to set already. Had time really gone that fast while he was in the Nether? Either way, they had to keep going as far as they could before night fell. Mark put the Balance Core back inside his hotbar and then zipped his Blockpack shut. He only kept out his diamond sword and the Master Compass.

"It's time to get back on track, everyone!" he declared excitedly. "So, let's follow the Master Compass for the first time in what seems like forever."

It was true, for everything had gone back to normal. Just like in the past, they were walking and following the Master Compass's direction. Mark walked forward at a steady pace, Adrian standing to his right, Kelsey and Astrid to his left. Vanessa stayed back and walked with Rexum, murmuring quietly. It felt good to be back with his real friends. It felt good to be on the right road again. It felt good to have Kelsey back on his side... Mark was happier than he'd been in a long time. Plus, in a very short time they'd finally reach the Void Transport, and he'd be closer than he ever was to getting his old life back.

They continued to walk for another hour without rest, because Mark knew they'd reach the Void Transport after a couple of miles, he could just tell. As they got closer and closer to their destination, the Master Compass would vibrate and glow even harsher. It was even getting difficult to hold onto.

Mark looked to his side at the horizon along the desert hills beyond and saw that the sun was already touching it, sending an orangish glow across the sky.

"Oh man," he muttered. "we're gonna have to stop soon, guys."

He felt a hand on his left shoulder.

"Wait! Look over there!"

Mark turned his head back to the direction they faced and his eyes widened greatly. There was something massive coming up. Mark ran for it, looked down at his insanely-pulsing Master Compass as it shook, and then stared straight ahead. He stopped after running about forty blocks as the entire figure came into view.

The structure that Mark was looking at was at least a couple hundred blocks tall, and went up into the clouds. It was a pyramid made completely of glowing bedrock. Heavy ripples in the air pulsed from its center, making everything around it shift. There were massive and detailed heads built into its slanted black walls, sculpted to look like Notch, Herobrine, Queen Enderdragon, and Salutem. When Mark looked high up at the tip that was so far away he could see some black light bursting out of it. THIS was the Void Transport.

Adrian caught up with him first, and then came Astrid, Kelsey, Rexum, and then Vanessa last. All but Rexum stared in awe at the great bedrock structure that was the Void Transport; Rexum stayed solemn as ever. Mark turned around to face them all. Feeling an important moment coming on, he spoke in a tone of finality.

"Alright, everyone, we've made it!"

Cheers erupted from their small group and many high-fives were exchanged. Once they had quieted down, Mark continued.

"Although, we will NOT be climbing this thing tonight."

Rather contradictory to what had just happened seven seconds ago, Mark received a whole chorus of groaning.

"We need to get a good night's sleep before we go up there; can you imagine what would happen if we went up into the Void Palace and fought the Glitch if we were tired?"

There was a small murmur of assent that passed through the group. They set up their beds next to the massive bedrock structure as the sun dipped completely below the horizon, and Rexum put up their force field once again. Nobody wanted to be bothered by mutant for the rest of the night.

Mark and Kelsey put their beds right next to each other to make a double bed. They both got in, and when Mark put his head down, Kelsey set her head on his chest and closed her eyes, sighing heavily. Mark smiled to himself as he looked up into the starry sky, enjoying the moment.

But then a feeling of dread overcame him as he thought about the following morning. Once morning came they'd already be going up into the Void Palace where the Glitch was. How WOULD they sneak past all those viruses and find the things they needed? Mark remembered Salutem saying that the two items they needed—the Glove of Gloom (or rather the Glitch's tear of sadness he needed to craft the Glove of Gloom) and Notch's Hammer—were in a secret room underneath the throne room. Well, he wasn't exactly sure if Notch had been stolen from yet, so that was another unknown factor.

Still, he knew that he could count on his friends in order to help him get through it all, so he shouldn't just keep worrying. Then HE wouldn't get any sleep, so he'd be going against his own orders.

So instead of thinking of his worries any longer, Mark closed his eyes, listened to the soft breathing of Kelsey, and put his arms around her. The next moment was filled with instant sleep.

* * *

Herobrine rocketed through the air on his cloud of dark smog, his temper flaring. As he stared below him he could see the war waging on between the royal army and those dreaded viruses. Not only had General Blackflame ignored his demand for a real report, but he had ALSO let the Glitch's army invade the Nether!

He lifted his hands and formed a massive fireball above his head, and threw it down into the black crowd below, creating a fiery explosion that disintegrated many and created a large crater. He continued this method of fighting and dodged oncoming blasts of plasma as he flew. Herobrine flew on whilst fighting until he spotted General Blackflame nearby. The general was a pitch-black Ghast with glowing blue eyes of fire, and he was the size of twenty-seven ghasts combined, not including his tentacles. He had forty of those long, black tendrils, which were forty blocks long each. He would've been a pretty impressive general if it weren't for his communication skills...

Unfortunately, as Herobrine looked at General Blackflame for that one second, a beam of black plasma grazed his cloud, destroying it in a puff of particles. Herobrine fell down through the sky, right above a lake of lava. While freefalling, Herobrine thrust his hands downward, then back up again, and a geyser of lava shot up, catching him as he fell. He balanced on top of it, dodged another blast, and then sent his own tidal wave of magma over the black army. This gave his army a chance to charge forward through the lava waves unharmed and attack. He had the advantage—for now, at least.

With the distraction at hand, Herobrine leapt off the lava tower and formed the black smog cloud beneath him again, rocketing off once more. He reached General Blackflame within seconds, and once he was close enough he cupped his hands to his mouth and shouted angrily.

"HEY! GENERAL BLACKFLAME!" the general turned and glared over at Herobrine with burning, cobalt eyes. "HOW COULD YOU HAVE LET THIS ALL SLIP?!"

General Blackflame yelled back in cross between a hiss and a human's voice.

"I told you that I am very busy right now! When was I supposed to get that report?!"

Herobrine swerved out of the way to avoid another plasma blast and retaliated with his own fireball.

"You COULD have considered its importance!"

"I'm sorry, I had other obligations! Just think of MY family for a second!"

"Military matters come first, you should know that!"

"My little daughter wanted to go bowling, what was I supposed to say?!"

"WHY ARE YOU BOWLING?! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO FULFILL YOUR DUTIES AS GENERAL!"

"Never mind! Let's just get rid of this army!"

Herobrine sighed angrily and flew away from General Blackflame. He wove in and out of his tentacle storm, blasting the viruses beneath him every chance he got. When he came back out, he looked back at the path of wreckage he created and laughed heartily.

"Take THAT, you fiends!" he declared, lifting his sword into the air heroically.

_"No, Lord Herobrine, take THIS!"_

Something icy-cold wrapped around Herobrine's wrist and he was wrenched off his smog-cloud. Herobrine yelled in surprise and focused all his power on getting away, but the more he tried the worse the cold became, and when he looked back to see the cause of it, his lungs froze. A black tendril of plasma from the Glitch's wing was curled tightly around his wrist, and the Glitch itself was flying upward into the sky, taking Herobrine with it. The Glitch's evil eyes flashed wickedly down at Herobrine, who was fixated in fear himself. He had feared that this moment would come!

The Glitch stopped ascending, letting Herobrine dangle over the orange sea below. Herobrine struggled, his arm completely numb.

_"Herobrine! I have long awaited the moment when I would take your soul!"_

It whipped the tendril, launching Herobrine back down to the ground. Herobrine slammed heavily into the Netherrack ground, scattering his own army. Before he could even catch his breath, the Glitch leapt out of its position in midair and landed even heavier on top of Herobrine, pinning him into the ground like a helpless insect. The Glitch's left wing shifted, turning into a massive hand with sharp fingernails. A forefinger lowered down and set itself on Herobrine's chest, which was rising and falling quickly, but then slowed. Herobrine stared up into the Glitch's piercing eyes, eventually maintaining a determined expression.

_"Why so serious?"_ said the Glitch, noticing his inert face. _"You should be happy that this day has come! You are helping me, and even for a worthy cause..."_

A wave of Herobrine's mobs came in from the left, shouting their emperor's name, ready to sacrifice their lives to help him. The Glitch merely waved its wing, and all of Herobrine's forwarding subjects disintegrated, leaving the Glitch to eat their souls as another quick snack. It paused for a moment, and then looked back down at Herobrine.

_"Now, where were we, hm?"_

The sharp finger pressed down, puncturing Herobrine's chest, and he gasped in pain, and blood spurted forth.

_"Oh yes, I was about to suck up your soul..."_

The finger deepened, and as it touched Herobrine's heart, the organ merely ceased to exist. As the glowing red soul of Herobrine rose out of his body, the Glitch licked its lips and eyed it gleefully, and the might god drew his last breath.

_"Goodnight, Lord Herobrine."_

Herobrine died at that moment, his soul dying within the Glitch's black hole, and so he too ceased to exist. ...Herobrine was no more...

* * *

**Ohhhhh noooooo! First Queen Enderdragon, and now Herobrine?! Is Notch next?! O_O**

**QAA, anyone?**

**To Notch: Get Finn and Jake from Adventure Time and pair 'em up with Mark & friends.**

Notch: Ha! For one, they aren't in the prophecy. And two, even if they WERE in the prophecy, they wouldn't be powerful enough to defeat an all-consuming virus! *hearty laugh*

**To Mark: How bad do you want Kelsey to forgive you on a scale of 1 to 10?**

Mark: Over 9000... Enough said.

**Kelsey: how much did it hurt to see Mark and Raven making out on a scale of 1 to 10. For both of you if the answer is 8-10 then that's hardcore LOVE. Get back together!**

Kelsey: It hurt me more than anything in my life... It hurt me even more than the time I cut open my hand in a blender... You must understand how bad that is.

**To Mark: *telepathically* Mark Cobweb! I'm glad you're safe. I have been battling the Glitch but now I'm horribly injured. I will heal soon but you need to stay safe.**

Mark: Yeah, that's what I've been trying to do, if you hadn't noticed. *sarcasm*

**To Herobrine: Ha! Your name's Herb! Your name is geeky and nerdy! Hahahahaha!**

Herobrine: *no comment*

**To the Glitch: You don't even know what Star Wars is, do you? I bet if you traveled to the Star Wars Dimension the Jedi and Sith would kick your butt and send you crying to your imaginary mother you made up when you were lonely!**

The Glitch: _How clever. I am simply teeming with anger. Rawr. Blah. Yell._

**What kind of powers will the Glitch obtain now that it has sucked up Herobrine soul, or otherwise known as the Redness Soul? Will Mark and his friends be able to reach the throne room, grab a tear of the Glitch's sadness, possibly take Notch's hammer, AND get out of there through the Aether portal? Find out next chapter in VOiD!** **But for now, this is Pastrinator64, and I'll see you later with chapter numbah twenty-seven!**

***throws sugar bomb, disappears in a cloud of fine white sugar***

**Byyyyyeeeeee...**

**~Pastrinator64 [~]**


	27. Chapter 27: Rexum's Last Resort

**Hello, this is Pastrinator64 with another LONG AWAITED chapter from VOiD. I have never been so deeply annoyed with myself, I must admit. I am so very sorry that my procrastination from writing has hindered my chapter production; well, it wasn't all procrastination, because homework is still to blame for some of this.**

**Anyway, on a different note, I got asked by a girl—no names will be said—to date her. I just feel lucky to actually be liked that much, because I thought I was Forever Alone, or something.**

**But let's get back on track. Here are my replies to YOUR reviews...**

Replies To Reviews...

**Volcanic the hedgehog: **That's the whole point; there isn't a way to bring them back! Oh wait, there is one way, but I can't tell you about it. Heheheheheheheh...

**YoshiEmblem: **I SOOOOOOO HATE PROCRASTINATION! DX

**BfheadGamer: **That's an excellent question. How do Ghasts bowl if they don't have fingers? *mind-blown*

**Dirt BlockZ: **You think so? I am highly flattered. :3

** : **I know, right? It's really annoying! No matter how hard I try to keep out the typos, they always slip right past! Also, I can't tell you if this'll end here yet, that will be decided later in the book, okay?

**Pixelized Pikale and Company: **Minecraft Limbo? I bet that's a mod, isn't it? And also, I'm so very glad you're caught up.

**Okay, now that THAT'S all said and done, how about we get on with the actual story? I'll warn you though, this is a highly depressing chapter coming up...**

**Hello, this is Pastrinator64 with another chapter from VOiD. Last time on VOiD, we watched as Mark and Olivia quickly raced through the sand to reach Mark's group again, who were found to be walking nearby. When Raven came up to them and got Olivia running away in tears, Mark let all his emotion out and shouted everything on his mind about Kelsey and how he needed her back desperately. This sent Raven off as well, and Mark was finally able to tell everyone, especially Kelsey, about what actually happened between him and Raven. Mark and Kelsey got back together once more, and the entire group went on their way again. After traveling into the night, they finally reached the Void Transport, which would be the thing to get them up into the Void Palace for the next part of their quest. Mark insisted that they rest up before they had to go up into The Void, and so the set their sights on traveling in the morning. Now we witness an intense battle take place unexpectedly in the night between the heroes and three other familiar figures.**

**Now, let the story commence!**

* * *

_Chapter 27: Rexum's Last Resort_

Mark had an interesting dream that night. He dreamt that he was in a pool room alone, sitting in the hot tub and just hanging back. A few moments later, the patter of footsteps echoed behind him, and when he turned his head he could see Kelsey approaching, wearing a cool-blue bikini.

"Hey," she said, sitting down and easing herself down into the warm water.

"Hey," he replied, grinning.

Kelsey leaned up against the edge of the hot tub.

"So, what's on your mind?" she asked, turning herself slightly to face him.

"Nothing much, really. I've just been super happy, that's all."

"Why's that?" asked Kelsey, a curious look playing across her face.

Mark sighed and closed his eyes for a moment, thinking over the past events for about ten seconds. Finally, he spoke again.

"Well, a lot of my life's problems just recently got solved. First of all, I have Lucas off my back, so that's a relief—I mean, he wasn't even Lucas, but still. I'm even gladder to finally have Raven's interference gone, because now I can be with you again. I swear, I was going to die if I went much longer without you."

Kelsey smiled sweetly and then kissed him on the cheek.

"Thanks!" she said gratefully.

Mark grinned to himself and said,

"I'm finally out of my gloomy little hole, that's for sure."

They sat in silence for a moment, but then Mark looked around him and said,

"Strange things, dreams. It's like," he pointed to a nearby window leading to the outside world. "for all I know, there could be absolutely nothing but whiteness out there."

"I think we're sharing a dream." murmured Kelsey curiously.

"Maybe..."

Mark looked over at Kelsey again, who smiled back at him. She cuddled up next to him, putting her arms around his shoulders for support. He sat there, just thinking about her, and then said,

"Kelsey?"

She looked up at him kindly and replied,

"Yeah?"

Mark sighed slightly, looked up at the ceiling for a moment, and felt the all-too familiar, gut-wrenching feeling of guilt.

"I've been thinking about the day you died on Earth..."

Kelsey pulled his head back down and stared into his eyes deeply.

"Don't you bring that up!" she said sternly. "I don't want you to think for another moment about that day. It doesn't matter one bit what happened on that bike ride. I don't blame you for ANYTHING."

"But... Okay." muttered Mark, looking down at the foamy water instead.

Kelsey brought his head back up and continued.

"I don't want you dwelling on my last hours. You know it's worthless thinking about it, don't you? What good will it do?"

Mark paused, thinking it over for only a moment, but the answer was pretty obvious.

"It won't do anything but make me more depressed." he admitted begrudgingly.

"Right, so how about we just forget about the day, ok?" she suggested quietly.

Mark was about to say something again, but he felt the water around him suddenly turn cold. Mark shivered and quickly climbed out.

"Are you okay?" asked Kelsey, who still sat in the water as though it were perfectly warm.

"D-did the hot tub s-suddenly break or something?" he muttered past the chatter of his teeth.

Kelsey looked down at the freezing water and said,

"I don't feel anything cold."

All of a sudden, Kelsey watched as Mark disappeared on the spot, and in his place appeared the words, "Mark left the dream".

* * *

Mark woke from his dream that next instant to find himself standing up to his knees in cold water. His eyes snapped open and he jerked his head downward at the water.

"What the heck?" he muttered to himself.

Mark looked back up and realized that he was stuck inside a skinny tube of glass.

"Am I still dreaming?" he wondered to himself silently, looking around the tube.

He heard muffled footsteps from behind and he moved around to see who was coming. An unknown figure dressed in green robes appeared. The hood was pulled over their head, and only the icy-blue eyes were visible from behind the darkness inside the hood. Mark immediately recognized who it was.

"Rexum? What's going on?"

Rexum stopped in front of Mark and then looked to his left at a nearby switch positioned on a stone block next to him. There was a line of redstone that ran from it into the wall, going somewhere unknown.

"Mark," he said, just loud enough to reach him through the muffling of the glass. "I must explain everything to you now."

Mark got a sudden sense of foreboding and his eyes widened.

"What do you, er, mean?" he inquired nervously.

"I cannot let you continue on your journey. If you die, we all shall die, and the entire universe itself will cease to exist."

Mark's stomach plunged deeper.

"What are you talking about?"

"Mark," said Rexum, looking intensely at him. "I can't let you live."

A sickening feeling came over Mark instantly, and he swayed on the spot. What was wrong with Rexum?!

"You see, the Spirits In Between fused some of their power into you in order to protect you from the Glitch's infectious energy. They also hid another energy inside of you that even the Glitch would have never guessed. They did it when you were being taken here by the Balance Core..."

Mark just stared at Rexum in horror. What was he even talking about? What energy?

"Mark, when you were taken by the Balance Core that Saturday night on your home planet, the Balance Core's body sealed itself inside the unbreakable glass bottle, but its energy was transferred into your soul during the travel."

A rapidly overwhelming and mixed feeling of surprise, shock, and nausea overcame Mark, and he leaned against the glass to support himself.

"B-but..." he muttered, not able to believe what he'd just heard.

"That is why I can't let you live, Mark. I'm sorry, but the Glitch is tracking you by the Balance Core's energy. It does not know that the energy is coming from you, it believes that it's coming from the Balance Core's body inside the bottle. In order to prevent the Glitch from ever finding the energy itself, I must infuse its power into an object that will never attract attention; my staff is what I will use, for I am far more capable of protecting myself. I know that you want to live, Mark, but I cannot forsake the existence of the universe for one person, even if it means killing the Ultra Hero. I am deeply sorry. I and many others shall miss you, but your time has to end your life for the welfare of all things in existence. Goodbye, Markus Cobweb..."

Mark was freaked out of his mind, and he desperately pounded the glass in front of him to break it. But when his hands touched it, a golden field appeared around the glass and words popped up in front of him that said, _"You do not have permission to do that!"_.

Rexum moved his hand towards the lever, placed it on the tip, and then pulled it lightly. A rushing sound filled the glass tube, and Mark looked up quickly. More icy water was gushing down from fifty blocks above. He pounded on the glass, spamming the red message over and over, and within ten seconds the water flowed over him, submerging him completely.

Mark screamed as loud as he could without opening his mouth and held his breath. It only took ten seconds for his lungs to start burning, and he screamed on and on, hoping somebody would hear him. But after twenty seconds passed, and he was nearly to passing out, Mark just stopped struggling and let himself drift, his lungs waterlogged and exploding, and he couldn't do anything about it.

Just then, as Mark was about to drown right then and there, a massive shudder shook the room, and the glass around Mark shattered, launching him onto the ground in a soaking mess. He gulped down the cold air, which both stung his lungs and relieved him. Through blurry, pulsing vision he could see Rexum running off down a dark tunnel that was at the other end of the cave. Just as Rexum was out of sight, another shudder blasted its way through the cave, making Mark slip as he got to his feet.

Once he had his footing again, Mark moved as quickly as his body would allow him towards the exit, and then hobbled his way through the dark tunnel. Within seconds he reached a dead end. He groped around for any sign of a ladder, and then found one after a few seconds. He gripped it tightly and hoisted himself up, climbing the ladder blindly. As he was climbing, a third vibration surged through the ground, and Mark almost fell off the ladder. Mark felt a sudden gust of cold wind and knew he was at the surface again, so he climbed out onto the cool grass.

Right about now, Mark's vision had recovered, although he was still slightly winded. As he stood shivering in the cold breeze, Mark looked around and saw his friends hurriedly getting up from their beds. He walked over to Adrian, who noticed him instantly, and he said,

"Dude, what...?"

"Dag nabbit, I think we're being attacked again!"

Mark finally recovered from his ordeal and looked around nervously for Rexum. He'd almost been killed by the old man, so he didn't want to be ambushed or something.

"Mark!" shouted Adrian, getting Mark's attention again. "We gotta get outa here! Rexum's already making a run for it, we'd better—"

Mark stopped him immediately, saying,

"Dude, no way! Do you know what that man just did to me?! He brought me down underneath here in this cave and tried to drown me!"

"What? Ah, hell naw."

"Yes way! He said something about the Balance Core's power being hidden inside me, and that he needed to kill me in order to extract the power for safekeeping, or whatever. I'm NOT getting near the creep!"

Just then, the fourth massive trembling occurred, and three bolts of black lightning struck the ground before their very eyes, creating three figures in their place, and the girls screamed while the guys just stared in fear. All three of the figures were wearing black cloaks. One was tall and thin, one was short and squat, and then the middle figure was proportionately sized. All three of them owned a pair of dull red eyes. This was the third time in a row, but Jenx, Brizarg, and Eragariss were back again.

Mark whipped out his sword upon instinct and held it close to him. He heard many other weapons unsheathing behind him; the others must be getting the same idea. A few seconds went by in unnerving silence, but then Jenx stepped towards Mark. Every muscle in Mark's body tensed. Jenx stopped after his one step and stared grievously at the Ultra Hero.

"Hello, Mark."

Mark grimaced and tightened the grip on his diamond blade.

"What do you want, Jenx?" he muttered threateningly. "You remember the last few times you tried beating us up?"

Mark couldn't see underneath Jenx's hood, but he detected an evil grin.

"Yes, I do remember. I can recall upon those times very clearly, in fact. But this time will be different, I assure you."

He expected to hear an edge of amusement in Jenx's voice, but it was totally different. Jenx didn't sound at all amused, but rather cynical and dead-serious. He didn't like it one bit.

"We have been preparing an attack to use against you in your final battle. It is a flawless one, and unlike some of our previous tactics, this one is so seamlessly crafted for your destruction that you will become a swirling cloud of atoms within minutes of it being released."

Mark gritted his teeth angrily, trying to look intimidating while, really, his nerves increased from the inside. Instead of getting on with it, Jenx continued his little speech.

"You see, we have been in recent contact with the Glitch; it has granted us some of its own power to aid us as we bring your life to an end." he muttered, the eyes beneath the hood gleaming. "So, if you think a simple blade of diamond will be able to damage us then you are foolish."

Jenx walked back into the line and looked from Brizarg to Eragariss. All three of the cloaked men raised their clammy, bony hands upward.

"Are you ready, my faithful men?"

"Yes, Master Jenx." they declared in unison.

* * *

"Oh, wow..."

Norman stood beside Liz, staring at the remains of this duplicate Diamond University. Even though the school wasn't the original, Norman was still equally shocked by its demolished appearance.

The building stood with many chunks of wall missing from its massive exterior. The hovering item forms of blocks were littered in mounds all over the place, so the place must've been recently destroyed. The large, beautiful windows had all been reduced to gaping holes in the sides of the building. A bitter wind swept through the area, spreading the item-blocks everywhere. Liz looked over at Norman and said,

"Let's pick up whatever we can; we'll at least have supplies to work with."

So that's what they did. Norman and Liz gathered up as much as they could carry in their hotbar and spare Blockpacks. Once they were finished, they both just stood and stared at its remains for another few seconds.

"What happened?" murmured Liz concernedly.

"The Glitch was here," replied Norman, noting to himself about the bitter wind.

"I hope Mark and Vanessa are okay..."

Norman turned at the sound of sniffling. His wife lowered her head, and he saw a teardrop fall from the tip of her nose onto the ground. He put a comforting arm around her and pulled her close.

"C'mon, Mark and Vanessa can figure their way out of anything!" he declared encouragingly. "They take after us, after all. Remember when we got separated by that chaotic crowd back at that village where Bailey was living? We found ourselves inside that cave with the portal, didn't we? Even though we were divided, figuring out a plan was a cinch! Mark and Vanessa are probably doing the same thing now."

Liz sniffed a couple more times; she looked back up at her husband with teary eyes.

"You honestly think they're okay?"

"Definitely."

* * *

Two black beams of Dark energy rose from out of Eragariss's hands and connected into. The single, large beam jutted to the right, passing over both Jenx and Brizarg, and the beam traveled down to both, weaving in between their crooked fingers. The energy from the beam flowed into them all, making them pulse, twist, and disfigure.

The bodies of men shifted together, forming a large, black mass, which rose upward, gaining height. The mass formed a ghostly shape, like the "body" of a monstrous spirit. The thick, grotesque body rose off the ground and hovered there, and a curly, wispy red tail grew from its behind, twirling around like an angry snake. Warped horns grew from the misshapen head, gaining the same length as the slender tail. Two disembodied red claws materialized on either side of the body, huge and twitching uncontrollably.

Two hollow, round indentations formed into the head along with a crevice carved so terribly that it seemed it had been cut carelessly by a pair of scissors. These three scar-like formations pulsed with a bloody crimson, creating a ghoulish face. Suddenly, from out of each eye and the crooked mouth, the heads of Jenx, Brizarg and Eragariss appeared; Jenx's head poked out from the left eye while Brizarg's came from the right, and Eragariss remained staring out from the wicked excuse of a mouth.

Jenx's head lowered and Mark found himself being stared down by a lifeless skull wearing a hood. Somewhere inside the pitch-black, ruby-eyed monster, Jenx's voice echoed out to them.

"Mark, the beast you face is no longer named Jenx, Brizarg, or Eragariss. We are no longer the Grief Squad; we have prepared this attack and given it a new name. If you want to save the universe, you will have to fight us, the horrific Jeragarizarg!"

This was rather anticlimactic for Mark. He had expected to hear some kind of cleverly thought-out, freakishly intimidating name to go along with the monster, but this one was kind of, well... Eh.

Still, he didn't have time to dwell on the lame name, because he found himself very preoccupied with the beast itself. It was huge! He could even feel Mickey shivering with fear inside his Blockpack. Now their only hopes were Vanessa and Rexum. Just then, Jeragarizarg hovered forward faster than he thought it would, and the blade-like tail whipped down on him. Just as it was about to hit Mark right in the face, Rexum came flying in and deflected it with his golden oak staff, which was glowing intensely with a gold aura. As he was holding the tail back, Mark became suddenly angry and then yelled out at him with fury.

"What the heck is wrong with you?!" he said in a frustrated tone of voice, scrunching up his face. "One minute you try and drown me, and now you're back and all heroic again!"

Rexum lashed away at the tail and continued to deflect its whipping movements.

"I have already explained, Mark! Remember what I said earlier, for I do not have time to elaborate any longer!" he shouted back.

Rexum's tone was final, and it stopped Mark cold. Then he quickly let go of everything he was thinking and just focused on the task at hand, which was now beating up a massive ghost made of Dark energy...

_"How fan-freakin-tastic!"_ he thought to himself as he contemplated over how he'd be able to do any damage.

Nevertheless, Mark went along with the rest of his friends as they dashed towards Jeragarizarg with their weapons raised, shouting impressive battle cries. Mark leapt upward from underneath the body and stabbed with his diamond blade, but it merely bounced off, making the protective force field around it glow with red where he hit it. He tried again and again, but he could not touch the creature, and when he looked over at his friends, he noticed that they too could not do damage.

He took a glance over at Vanessa, who had transformed Cantatis once more into her huge, scarlet, double-edged sword. She lifted it into the air and a shimmer covered it at the tip; she brought it down, sending an airborne cutter of red energy at Jeragarizarg. But even with the power of Cantatis, the magic cutting edge was averted upon contact with the force field. Vanessa, deeply annoyed that she was being bested, swished her huge blade over and over, sending a torrent of cutters at Jeragarizarg. Every single one of them was turned aside by the powerful Dark force field covering the monster.

Then Jeragarizarg decided to start fighting back. Eragariss's head, which had been dangling limply from over the lip of the crooked mouth, lifted slightly and the eyes flashed. The mouth opened up and spat out thousands of tiny red shards at them, storming down like a rainstorm. Vanessa concentrated on creating a force field, and Cantatis turned into it, surrounding them all to protect from the advancing red hail. Only Rexum wasn't covered, but as the shards touched his skin they were turned into harmless, powdery snow. Mark had to admit, despite the fact that he'd almost been killed by the old man, he was still pretty cool.

Jeragarizarg stopped with the pelting shards and closed its mouth, letting Eragariss's head sway back over the lip. The two eyes of the massive creature opened wider than they already were, and both Jenx and Brizarg's heads lifted, their eyes flashing. Full red laser streamed from the eyes, frying the ground explode where they touched, and split apart to follow and kill them all—with the exception of Rexum, who was still warding off the tail, which was absolutely relentless in its attacks.

Rexum jumped backwards to avoid another swipe and then quickly summoned a golden cloud, which he jumped on top of and rode up into the sky with. The ruby-eyed Jeragarizarg eyed him maliciously and swiped at him with its disembodied claws. The sharp red fingers sliced at him countless times, but the old man avoided them at an impossible speed. All of the monster's attention was on Rexum now, and the lasers stopped completely, leaving the others to pant and catch their breath on the ground.

Mark looked up into the sky at the golden speck that was Rexum. He was a blur in between the two swiping hands of Jeragarizarg, completely untouched by their sharp, red surface. Finally, Rexum flew way out of reach of the hands and lifted his golden oak staff above his head. The staff vibrated, sending a golden pulse through the air, and continued to do that repeatedly, as though it were charging something up. Shots of golden fireworks were emitted from the staff, exploding in the air around Jeragarizarg's horned, misshapen head. Then, the final ring of golden energy was blasted out, but then shuddered and was sucked back in, making the entire staff blindingly bright. Mark knew something huge was coming, and just as he was about to watch Rexum unless his power, he heard the man's voice echo through his head.

_"Mark, I am about to unleash all the power I possess. You must get as far away from Jeragarizarg as possible or you to will be destroyed by the energy release. I will be fine, but you must take the others and run. Do you understand?"_

Mark, who was still watching the man in the sky intently, had a sudden sense of foreboding. He could sense something wrong about to happen... But then again, even if Rexum had tried to kill him just earlier, he needed to get them all out of there.

_"Yes, Rexum."_

Mark hurtled himself away from Jeragarizarg and waved his hands at everyone else to follow him. They got the message well, and followed him away from the colossal spirit. All of them were looking up at Rexum, who stood as still as a statue, his blindingly bright staff still lifted.

All was quiet...

"Jeragarizarg!" shouted Rexum, his icily angry voice shattering the night's cold air. "I have evaluated your power on my own, and I know that you are protected with a force field that only I can break! You hide under the shadow of Dark energy! Many villains have fallen because of that one fatal mistake, I must add! But, if you wish to kill the heroes of the Divination of Dimensions, I will have to destroy you myself!"

And then it happened. Rexum took his staff in both hands and lashed it downward at Jeragarizarg. A 100x100x100 block of pure energy exploded from out of his staff and hurtled down at the monster. The blast smashed head-on into the creature, making an explosion so powerful that its release waves split the ground where they touched, completely destroying it in their paths. This blast lasted for an entire minute, the fiery power consuming Jeragarizarg completely, eating away at every fiber in the ghoul's being.

The minute passed in slow-motion, but when it was over, Mark looked up to see Rexum falling from his golden cloud into the air, limp as a ragdoll. Mark frantically looked around for something to catch him with, but before he could do anything, a massive red hand appeared in the sky and snatched him from his freefall.

Mark whirled around to face the golden smoke issuing from the spot where Jeragarizarg had been moments before. The hand closed around Rexum tightly and was brought back into the smoke. An unearthly screech echoed from the smog cloud and Jeragarizarg came hovering out. The creature had been hit with enough power to completely take off one horn, one hand, its tail, and then blow a massive hole through the thing's chest. Inside the monster showed a gruesome, spurting heart colored pitch-black.

Just then, Mark heard a clatter from behind him and turned to see Rexum's staff fall in the grass ten blocks away. He looked back at Jeragarizarg, who looked over at him as well, and its eyes glowed, targeting him immediately. Mark felt his legs churn as he sprinted towards the staff, Jeragarizarg advancing on him insanely quick. He was a mere two blocks away from the staff when he was knocked sideways by a powerful punch. Jenx's voice echoed once more from the creature. Mark had barely enough time to register what had happened before he slammed stomach-first into the ground twenty blocks away. He could feel his ribs crack beneath him, and he screamed in pain as the nasty sting spread across his chest.

"Mark, you must realize that you cannot win this fight!" he taunted, tossing Rexum aside, landing him right next to Mark.

Mark grimaced as he turned his head to look at Rexum, who was breathing slowly and shallowly. Rexum looked over at Mark, and a single tear dripped from each.

"I need... I need..."

Mark tried moving himself closer to Rexum in order to understand what he was trying to say, because it seemed to be costing him every ounce of effort left in his body.

"What do you need?" croaked Mark.

He was very aware of what was happening. He knew they were going to die for real this time, because they really had no way of beating Jeragarizarg. If Rexum couldn't even destroy the thing completely, then they really had no other tricks up their sleeves. Rexum reached out with a feeble arm and grasped the fabric of Mark's T-shirt.

"Vanessa... To... Me..."

Mark knew he was about to die anyway, so he didn't even hesitate as he slowly stood up, bearing the pain of his cracked ribs as well as he could. Once he was standing again, he balanced on his diamond sword so that he wouldn't fall over. Jeragarizarg just stared with the same hollow expression as Mark stared back, angry and upset at the same time. He then looked around slowly for Vanessa; she approached him when their eyes met moments later. Vanessa ran forward and threw herself at Rexum's side, tears filling her own eyes. This was one of the first times he'd ever seen her cry. Rexum turned his head back upward to look at Vanessa, who bit her lip and let her tears fall.

"Rexum..." she muttered quietly, fear in her voice.

Rexum feebly lifted a wrinkled hand to her cheek and wiped the tears.

"Do not cry, child." he murmured weakly, trying to stay focused on her face long enough to try and remember it before he would end his life. "You must listen to me now, for the words I am about to say are extremely important..."

Vanessa knelt over him and her tears only increased. She held his face to look up at her and said,

"Rexum, do not die, just do not die, please..."

Rexum took a shaky breath and continued.

"Vanessa, it is obvious that the blast I just issued upon Jeragarizarg was all the power I had. I was well aware that I would not beat it. That much was clear to me. All I could hope to do would be to damage it enough for you when you take over my duty."

"Stop saying that! You could have beaten it!" she choked.

Rexum just kept talking as though he were speaking to himself; it was possible that he was hardly aware of anything anymore, and that he was just speaking the words that he needed to say whether anyone listened or not.

"I knew that I was not the one to beat it, Vanessa. I planned this out, dear; I knew that I would pass away like this. But before I did pass away, I would need to transfer my power into you, my young pupil. Use my power and your own to defeat Jeragarizarg before it annihilates us all..."

"But—"

"I will now transfer all my power into you, Vanessa, as it is my last resort. Please grab hold of my hand and stay completely still."

Vanessa whimpered for a few moments, but finally took Rexum's ancient hand in hers. A soft, golden glow streamed through Rexum's arm, going to his hand, and then into Vanessa, who took in a quick breath, feeling a powerful surge of energy flow through her. Vanessa, like Rexum, could sense the power of people, and as she held the hand of that old man who she loved most, she could feel all his life drifting away. The gold light was absorbed by Vanessa for only ten seconds, but then it faded. Rexum sighed lightly, closed his eyes, and was still. The hand that clasped Vanessa's let go and fell limply at his side. The great and powerful man that was once Rexum was now dead.

* * *

**No, freaking, way... Even Rexum has fallen? I can't believe this day would come. *lies down* *tries not to cry* *cries a lot***

**Not that it matters, but... QAA, I guess. *sniffle***

**To Notch: Please share your energy. I just need a small amount to finish healing. The Glitch has consumed Herobrine! (And yes, I know you're probably already aware of that. -_-)**

Notch: I knew it... I felt his aura fading most recently, and I hoped desperately that it wasn't what it seemed, but it was and is. I know for a fact that I will be the next to die.

**To Herobrine: *pokes dead body with stick***

Herobrine: *doesn't even exist anymore*

**To the Glitch: Why don't you just charge at Mark and kill him like you did to Herobrine?**

The Glitch: _Obviously, I haven't had any time! Even when disguised as that simpleton named Lucas, I couldn't just burst out and kill him; if I did that, you know what would happen? The Spirits In Between would be around me like mold on a shower curtain! I must save my energy... If I am as careless as I was last time, then I won't be able to get to my highest point. This plan of mine is so flawless that NOTHING CAN STOP IT! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!_

**To da GLITCH: Why do you suck so much?**

The Glitch: _I suck all the time! I suck up dimensions, entities, worlds, etc. Or are you referring to the status of "sucking"?_

**To DA GLITCH: YOU ARE DA MOST ANNOYING THING THE WORLD HAS EVER SEEN! STAY AWAY FROM THE SUPER SMASH BROS. BRAWL AND ADVENTURE TIME DIMENSIONS!**

The Glitch: _Don't worry, little boy, I still need to pay a visit to the Cookie Clicker Dimension! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!_

**To Gabe and Lucas: What were you like before Salutem and the evil one possessed you?**

Gabe: I, *puffs out chest valiantly* was a brave, heroic knight of the Knights of the Blocky Table. *begins monologuing*

Lucas: Well, I WAS a happy-go-lucky kid with no responsibilities, but then that immoral idiot came and went inside my body, so I turned into a jerk. It wasn't fun, believe me.

**To Raven: *shoots heat-seeking death-ray at Raven and kills her* Sorry, don't come back, jerk! Mark is Kelsey's man, back off!**

Raven: *her depressed ghost comes back to haunt you for eternity*

**To only the Mutated Bed From Chapter 4: (Translated for you, bro.) AKXJFNEKX, USNGUC YKXNGLCTFLSNARGETH.**

The Mutated Bed From Chapter 4: (Translated to English for YOU, bro.) Woah! You can play the didgeridoo too?**  
To the Fourth Wall Repairman: Hey, we haven't heard from you lately, how are you?**

Fourth Wall Repairman: I'm doing okay, I guess. Life's as boring as ever, though. Fixing here, fixing there, fixing EVERYWHERE. Disney has seriously got to get their characters' awareness under control! They're still trying to figure out why they're always wearing gloves, you know!

**To the Glitch: Your face... I like that sh*t...**

The Glitch: _No comment..._

**But for next time, will Vanessa's power combined with Rexum's be enough to defeat the fearsome Jeragarizarg? How will the sudden death of Rexum affect Mark and his friends? And will Vanessa ever be able to get over her old friend being deceased? Find out next chapter in VOiD!** **But for now, this is Pastrinator64, and I'll see you later with chapter numbah twenty-eight!**

***throws sugar bomb, disappears in a cloud of fine white sugar***

**Byyyyyeeeeee...**

**~Pastrinator64 [~]**


End file.
